


Sehnsucht

by BleedingCosmonaut666



Category: Rammstein
Genre: AU, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, idk wtf tags to add uhhhh, pls dont judge me i hav issues nd problems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 09:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28469097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingCosmonaut666/pseuds/BleedingCosmonaut666
Summary: Flake and Paul are bartenders for a gay bar in an increasingly violent area, one night two new faces walk into the bar, what could go wrong?
Relationships: Richard Kruspe/Paul Landers, Till Lindemann/Christian Lorenz | Flake
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : this is fictional uh I mean technically the characters in this could just be my ocs that just happen to have the same names and look like the members of German band rammstein 
> 
> Author's notes  
> this is my first fic EVER so bear with me yall  
> This is will be a SLOWWWW burn because it's all ik at this point. I apologise if its boring but there'll probably be alot of tender wordless gestures in this because I'm gay like that. I've been listening to rammstein for a year but I'd only listen to them before my German exams instead of actually studying nd I only listened to self titled but about a month ago I was going through it fr so I started hyper fixating on them to distract me from the downward spiral that is my life. So I apologise if the personalities are off I need to watch more interviews and shit. 
> 
> Also this is supposed to be based in 1994 so imagine the members as how they look in this video : https://youtu.be/5BI86RoZuBs

Chapter 1

It was a perfectly average day of work, it was a Tuesday evening so it was a slow day in the bar known as Feuerräder. Because it was a weekday it was only Paul and Flake in work tonight. Flake was absentmindedly drying the pint glasses with a tea cloth when Paul suddenly slapped his shoulder stating 

"this one's mine Flake, I like what I'm seeing". 

Rudely awakened from his zoned out state Flake gave Paul a disgruntled look before following Paul's wide eyed gaze to the bar's incoming customers. Flake had never seen the two strongly built men with dark hair before, which was rare for a niche underground gay bar like Feuerräder. Their eyes were darkened by their low brows in the dim bar lighting. One could say both men were conventionally attractive but Flake found himself staring, mouth agape at the minorly taller of the two. He looked a bit awkward and uncomfortable compared to his obviously confident companion who strut toward the bar with a somewhat haunty air.

As they approached the bar Paul smoothly slided towards them and lent his elbow on the bar, offering them his trademark customer service smile as he quickly rattled off the bars specials and such. Flake watched as Paul leaned more forward and placed his chin on his palm as he winked mischievously at one of the men while conversing with them. Flake rolled his eyes and scoffed automatically at Paul's obvious flirtations.

His gaze then suddenly caught the taller man's and he could see that the man was staring right at him, not listening to whatever Paul and the other guy were loudly laughing about. The man's stare was intense, his sullen eyes stared right into Flakes now wide eyes. Flake felt heat rising in his face. He couldn't help but feel like a deer in headlights. The man swiftly moved his gaze back to Paul and placed his order. Flake dropped his head and started pretending to be busy organising glasses as Paul excitably went to work grabbing the men's drinks. 

"Watch and learn Flake, this is how ol paulchen works his brilliant charm" Paul said into Flakes ear as he passed him. 

"yea yea yea whatever you say Paulie" Flake responded, still in the midst of very intently organising and cleaning the bar's glasses. 

Paul returned to the men once more, dramatically placing the men's drinks before them. Flake's eyes automatically drifted upwards while he dried more glasses and he couldn't help but watch this exchange take place. The smaller man and the one Paul had winked out exclaimed something and Paul laughed obnoxiously and lightly slapped the guys shoulder. "Jesus Christ can you be anymore obvious you idiot" Flake thought, shaking his head. Paul has always been confident in his social abilities, a stark contrast to how Flake was. Every social interaction he had seemed to have an awkward moment. Paul was also insanely confident in his flirting abilities, even if some people found his obvious compliments and pick up lines cheesy and too forward rejection never quelled him on his quest to find love. Flake however was so terrified of the idea of engaging in a flirty conversation and of the inevitable rejection that he was sure to receive. 

Throughout the night while working Flake would occasionally catch the dark haired man's eyes once more. And although there was something still so intense and alluring about his gaze Flake no longer blushed when he met his gaze. Eventually gaining enough confidence to even smirk at the man when their eyes met, the man would take a sip of his drink and smirk back before turning to his friend and laughing and conversing with him while Flake would go back to serving customers. Paul frequently went over to the men to check if they wanted to order anything else, lingering a bit to joke with them. Flake sometimes thought he saw the man Paul winked at bite his lip while looking at Paul. He shook his head slightly, he couldn't believe Paul's obvious flirting had actually worked. He was gonna have to hear Paul brag about his charisma and skills on the walk back home to the small apartment him and Paul shared. 

It was almost closing time, as Paul collected the two mystery men's empty glasses the two slowly stood from their bar stools. The taller of the two putting on his coat while the other handed the fee to Paul.

"I can give you a membership so you can get a discount next time you come" Paul said cheerfully.

"The next time I come?" the man said putting his hand in his chin and looking up as if he was thinking about not coming back. Pauls ears started to turn pink thinking he had lost this game of flirts. 

"Yes I'll take a membership card after all where else would I find such good customer service" he said looking devilishly at Paul. Paul couldn't help but look reviled for a second and then a grin took over his face. He pulled out his pen and held it to his notepad.

"Yea I'll just need your name" he looked up triumphantly, satisfied that his little "membership" bullshit had worked. 

"Richard" the man said smiling "and you are?" 

"I am Paul, the best bartender at Feuerräder so make sure to ask for me next time you come so I can serve you"

The other man who had come with Richard was standing by while this took place, he shuffled awkwardly causing Richard to exclaim "Well Paul it's been so great meeting you but I should probably leave you to your work" he waved his hand and smirked as him and the other man left the bar. 

"Flakkkkkkeee" an annoying noise penetrated Flakes ears "Did you see that? Am I not just completely irresistible?" Paul said smugly while him and Flake grabbed their jackets and locked up the bar.

On the walk home Paul was retelling the night's events to Flake who just rolled his eyes or interjected to say something sarcastic. 

"So anyway his name is Richard and I guarantee he'll be back. To see me no doubt who could resist such a beauty as myself honestly I'm probably responsible for half of this bar's business, I'm just too beautiful" 

"You are so modest Paulchen" Flake said sarcastically but he was smiling, he truly was happy to see his friend joyful and excited.

"What about the guy who was with him?" Flake tried to ask nonchalantly hoping that Paul would be too invested in himself to notice Flakes interest in the attractive man.

"Oh I don't know he didn't talk much, seemed the quiet type I don't even remember what he ordered I think it was a rum or something. Wait why are you asking?" Paul asked, looking at Flake and starting to smirk wickedly.

"Does someone have a little crush or something?" Flakes eyes widened for a second before he huffed and folded his arms and looked down at the pavement as he walked.

"No of course not you imbecile unlike you I don't fall in love with random customers I was just asking because I was sick of hearing about your new boyfriend!"

Now it was Paul's turn to flail and huff, his ears began heating up as he loudly exclaimed "Richard's not my boyfriend I'm just doing my job trying to get new customers! ". Luckily for the two boys their awkward conversation was over as they had reached their apartment. 

Flake cooked them dinner while Paul watched the news and summarised it for Flake while they ate their food, blah blah politics blah blah violent murder in the area blah blah no rain this week. They both got into their respective beds in their shared room (the apartment only had 3 rooms an open kitchen and living room a bathroom and a bedroom) they said goodnight to each other and as Flake lay in bed trying to go to sleep he couldn't help but think of the dark haired man's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am slightly tipsy and listening 2 vocaloid rn while i upload this impulsively, dont make the same mistakes i do yall  
> thhis chapter is pretty short sorry! also no rereading we post spontaneously like men

Chapter 2

Flake and Paul showed up to work the next evening, Paul with excitable enthusiasm, Flake with hidden anticipation. Though he'd rather die than admit it, a part of him was very much hoping to see the other man tonight. Paul happily greeted their boss Oliver, a tall man who towered above the short Paul. Oliver was serious enough that he could run a business but also unserious enough that he could run a gay club which tended to have some ridiculous events. 

"Hello Paul you seem to be in good form, excited to see me or something?"

"He's just hoping to see his little crush tonight" Flake teased, quirking his eyebrow and smirking at Oliver. 

"Ooh is that so?" Oliver smiled at Paul. "Tell me about him".

As Paul dramatically retold the story of last night to Oliver Flake went into the back room to hang his coat up. As he passed the mirror on the way out he subconsciously stopped and checked himself in the mirror, something he didn't do often. It wasn't that he was hideous or so insecure, it was just that he could never be bothered to care about how he looked, after all he was never interested in having people looking at him anyway. But now he found himself frowning at his reflection, he tried to organise his messy blonde hair and he made sure to straighten his glasses. But still the frown remained on his square shaped face. He sighed and shrugged; he guessed he'll just never be truly happy with the way he looks.

As he walked out of the room it suddenly hit him what he had just done and he found himself demanding a reason as to why he did that? Why was he suddenly self conscious about his appearance at work of all places? A voice in his head said "so you can impress the mystery man obviously". Flake quickly mentally shut this voice up, he was slightly flushed now as he started his shift and tried to forget about the nausea and excitement he felt at the thought of the man coming into the bar again tonight. 

Flake can't seem to hide his disappointment for a moment as he sees Richard walk in unaccompanied. Richard seems to catch this and gives Flake a confused look which then turns to thoughtfulness. The night passes, Paul, of course, once again spends a lot of his shift talking with Richard. Paul leans forward across the bar and Richard presses his cigarette against his pouted lips and takes a suggestive drag and then exhales it into Richard’s smirking face, the two then giggle. Flake scowls and rolls his eyes, this is one of Paul's trademark moves, pretend that he's never smoked before and then his prey will offer him a taste and he'll get to lean well into their personal space to take a drag. 

The night had passed uneventfully Paul had continued to flirt with Richard until he had to leave and Flake had spent the night serving customers and trying to ignore the fact that he was frequently thinking about the mystery man. The two bartenders and their boss were tidying up the bar when Schneider sat at the barstool and took a sip from whatever drink was left on the table. Christoph Schneider was a frequent drag performer at the bar and he also worked bartending shifts occasionally. Upon seeing him Paul snapped his fingers and pointed at him

"Schneider dearest! I can take your shift tomorrow, you're off the hook baby! " 

Schneider was still in drag after that night's performance but his blonde curly wig was turned slightly and flopped to one side, his lipstick was smudged across his face he jerked back his head as he downed the drink. When finished he flipped his head forward and exhaled. 

"Thanks for the offer Paulchen but what's the catch?" he narrowed his now glassy eyes at Paul. 

"He's on some romantic quest with one of our customers" Oliver answered looking up from his work to smirk at Paul's blushing face.

"Ooooh I am so happy for you and even happier for myself because I don't have to work tomorrow. But remember men are pigs so watch your back" Schneider slurred.

"Yes yes thank you for the life advice as always Frau" 

Paul and Flake bid farewell to Oliver and Schneider and headed home. They had a quick microwavable dinner and went to bed, both dreaming about the day ahead they were hoping to have tomorrow in work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it gets more exciting in later chapters i swear


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was bored so i assigned each character songs that remind me of them  
> Flake- Anyone Can Play Guitar by Radiohead and I Just Wanna Have Something To Do By The Ramones  
> Paul- MTV Get Off The Air by Dead Kennedys and Paul by Die Ärzte  
> Till - Loverman by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds and Hybrid Moments by Misfits  
> Schneider- Scieße by Lady Gaga and Queen Bitch by David Bowie  
> Richard- Fairies Wear Boots by Black Sabbath and Ziggy Stardust cover by Bauhaus  
> Oliver- Have A Cigar by Pink Floyd and Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed
> 
> also im really anxious that the dialogue in this chapter is not realistic  
> i write my dialogue the way me and my friends speak but we speak like unrealistic freaks so idk if i write dialogue well or not sowwy!

They were an hour into their shift, it was a quiet night, Paul, Flake and Schneider, who had come in tonight off the clock to drink, sat at the bar chatting about various things. Out of drag Schneider appeared as a very handsome man, the only feminine thing about him was his delicate high cheekbones and his thin plucked eyebrows. His voice was also surprisingly deep and masculine.

"So anyway they say there's been another murder and their dick was found in trash bag full of rum bottles, scary stuff ri -"

" Shut it Schneider, duty calls." Paul interrupted, perking up, coolly running his hand through his hair.

Flake looked up to see where he was looking and saw Richard smugly walking towards the bar, this time with the other man in tow. Schneider turned slightly to see where they were looking and just rolled his eyes and looked flatly at Paul before downing his drink, claiming

"I'm gonna go try to give guys a hard on and get them to buy me drink."

And with that he slammed his glass on the bar and wobbly stood and stumbled to the dance floor.

Richard's blue eyes glinted and he shone his perfect white teeth as he engaged in conversation with Paul. The other man sat a few seats away from Richard and sat fiddling with his fingers a little, his eyes darting around at his surroundings. Flake stared at him for a moment before remembering that he had better do his job. 

He approached the man who looked up at him with deep green eyes, a few strands of dark hair almost covering his left eye. 

"Would you like something to drink sir?" 

Flake asked in his customer service voice. 

"Uh what would you recommend sir?" the man asked, putting his elbow on the bar top and placing his chin on his knuckles. 

He looked up at Flake, smiling softly. Flake instantly noticed the dimple on the man's right cheek and mentally scowled himself for noticing such a useless feature on a customer. He fought down the heat rising in his face and inhaled and then, displaying his best customer service smile, said

"Well my personal favourite is the Bombay sapphire but I can't promise that you'll like it so don't hold me responsible". 

The man considered this, still staring at Flake

"Sapphire… just like your eyes" he commented quietly.

After he seemed to have realised what he had said his eyes widened a little and he sat up straight. He laughed nervously, eyes dropping to look at his now fidgeting hands. 

"I mean I trust whatever you recommend." he said. He looked up at Flake again, "One Bombay sapphire please". 

Flake was still reeling from the strangers comment about his eyes. He was kind of in shock. He just stood slack jawed and confused before his brain registered the customers order. 

"Coming right up" he mumbled. 

"Here you are sir." Flake said, placing the glass before the man.

He scanned the bar, it looked pretty quiet; he supposed he'd have some time before he'd have to serve another customer. 

"I'd be interested to hear your review of my recommendation"

The man looked at him with a look Flake couldn't pinpoint, thoughtfulness maybe? He took the glass in his large hand and took a sip. He pursued his lips considering the taste. He looked at Flake and nodded as he took another sip.

He then wordlessly gestured as if offering Flake a sip of his drink. Flake was once again confused by this stranger's actions.

"Oh I uh -" he stumbled over his words, but as he tried to stutter out an appropriate reply he leaned forward towards the glass. 

When his lips were close the man tilted the glass slowly to allow him to drink a bit. He looked at Flake expectantly as he straightened, swallowing the drink. Both men felt heat rising to their face as it suddenly hit them how strange their interaction had been. The man's eyes darted to the floor and he slouched as he took a big gulp of his drink Flake just stood awkwardly switching his weight from one leg to the other. 

"Um.." he hesitated "If you ever want some more recommendations I'd be more than happy to oblige" 

he quickly said, trying to force himself back into customer service mode.

"My name is Flake by the way"

He looked up at the man, who was now smiling at him. Green eyes met blue. 

"Till." 

the dark haired man said holding out his hand. Flake took it and the man gave it a firm shake. Flake couldn't be sure if he was delusional or if there was a moment where their hands lingered together for longer than usual for a casual handshake. 

The night passed, Oliver ended his shift and drove a very drunk Schneider home to prevent any casualties on the dance floor, Paul and Richard continued to chat and laugh loudly and in between orders Flake spoke with Till. Flake learned that he recently moved to the city and was working in a mechanical parts factory with Richard. Once the night was almost over Paul approached Flake looking particularly giddy, his face slightly pink.

"Flake, Richard has invited me to his place tonight, are you okay to lock up by yourself?"

Flake narrowed his eyes at Paul and glared at him suspiciously for a while. It's not like this was the first time Paul had left Flake to go to someone he had met at the bars house, but still Flake liked to investigate and make sure that Paul wasn't so drunk that he didn't know what he was doing. Paul grinned slyly back at Flakes inquiring stare. After his silent interrogation Flake waved his hand and said 

"alright go I'll be fine. Stay safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do and all that"

Paul went on his tiptoes and gave the taller man a quick hug.

"Thank you Flake you're an angel" he said jokingly in a high pitched voice. 

He grabbed his coat from the back room and waved wildly at Flake before leaving the bar with Richard. Flake waved back dully before going back to work.

"I can stay while you lock up if you want" Till offered shyly, scratching the back of his head. "you know as safety"

Flake looked at the man thoughtfully as he contemplated this offer. He didn't know this man very well so being alone at night with him could be dangerous but also being alone in general at night could be dangerous. Why was the guy even offering? It’s not like he was trying to take Flake home was he? No, Flake thought frowning a bit, no way would such a conventionally handsome man be into gangly awkward Flake in _that_ way. 

After Flakes prolonged silence Till cleared his throat and shook his head.

"Uh you know what forget it, I don't know what I'm talking about''

Biting his lip he made like he was about to stand up and put on his jacket when Flake blurted out

"W-wait! Uh I would appreciate if you could stay just while I lock up I - I don't like being around the bar alone at night, drunk people can be a bit unpredictable, plus there's been an increase in crimes around here recently so uh..." 

He was almost out of breath by the end of his ramble, his face was slightly flushed and his slightly bulging eyes stared at Till whose expression slowly changed from an embarrassed frown to a relieved smile. 

"Of course, that's my job after all, being a big strong man it is my duty to protect those in need" he flexed his bicep and then did a little pretend bow towards Flake who laughed. 

Flake stood in the cold night air locking up the door to Feurräder with Till standing close by. When standing Flake was taller than Till but Till's body was a lot more impressive in muscle mass than Flake’s. Till stood with one hand in his jacket pocket and the other holding a cigarette between his fingers, his eyes were obsessively scanning the area. When Flake was finally done with the lock he turned on his heel to Till 

"Thanks I'm all done now so see ya I guess" 

Till took a drag still looking around.

"It's dangerous out these days, do you want me to walk you home?" 

Flake couldn't help but smirk at this man's offer, maybe he really _was_ trying to take Flake home after all.

"Thanks for the offer but I'm not some damsel in distress you know and my apartment isn't that far really so I'll be okay" 

Flake took a step forward to start his trek home when Till took a step in front of him.

"Well it'd be for my own conscious really, I'd be paranoid I'll hear on the news tomorrow of a handsome blonde haired bartender who was murdered in the night"

Despite the obvious compliment in that sentence Flake could see genuine concern and almost panic in the man's eyes. Flake sighed 

"Alright Prince Charming, you may escort me home if you so please"

Till grinned at this and dramatically raised his elbow and gestured towards it. Flake laughed at this and he overly gracefully linked his arm into Till’s elbow. The two walked in silence for a while both feeling increasingly awkward that their arms were linked still even though the joke was over. Till opened his mouth to say something looking at Flake but then closed it again. Flake started to get tense as he racked his brain for something, _anything_ to say.

"Do you smoke?" Till finally asked.

"Who doesn't?" Flake quickly replied.

Till threw the butt of his cigarette to the pavement floor and reached into his pocket for his box of cigarettes. Using one hand he took out two cigarettes. Seeing that Flake had his hand in his pocket and his other linked with Till’s, he gently placed the cigarette in Flake’s mouth and did the same with his own. Then with one hand again he reached into his jacket and took out his lighter. He turned his head towards Flake's and leaned forward. Flake did the same until their cigarettes were lightly touching and then Till flicked his lighter on. 

Both men inhaled and as they did so made direct eye contact. Flake was quite close to Till's face now. He noticed a small scar above his eye and three more on his chin. They stared at each other in close proximity for a bit, both of them held their breath but then Flake exhaled his smoke into Till's face laughing smugly. Till laughed as well. Flake took note of how his eyes squinted almost completely closed when he genuinely laughed and how he quickly turned his head away from Flake biting his bottom lip. They walked this time in comfortable silence as they smoked their cigarettes.

A cold wind suddenly blew, chilling Flake who gritted his teeth and sighed. Till looked at him, pondering for a moment before unlinking their arms. The sudden loss of contact made Flake feel disappointed and he pouted slightly as he looked at Till and saw him quickly whip off his maroon bomber jacket. He held it out to Flake. Flake stared, dumbfounded by this generous act. 

"Won't you be cold?"

Till shook his head roughly.

"I used to be a swimmer, I can handle the cold" he answered smiling proudly. 

Flake shrugged on the large garment, the warmth from Till's body heat lingered on it . Till looked at Flake in the large jacket and nodded slightly, looking satisfied. Flake suddenly felt himself heating up and it wasn't just because of the new layer of clothing covering his body. He reached his hand up and twirled his hair in his finger, turning his head downwards slightly trying to hide his creeping blush as he mumbled a barely audible "Thanks".

Although they never said it, both men were slightly disappointed when they reached their destination. Flake uttered a thank you after Till had spewed out a rushed "well have a good night bye" they looked at each other for a moment before Till turned and walked into the dark night. When inside, Flake realised he was still wearing Till's jacket. Shit he's going to be cold walking home now, whatever he'll just have to return it next time he sees him. If there even is a next time he thought. As he fell into sleep that night he really wished that there would be a next time. 

  
  


EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS AMAZING SHOWSTOPPING BEAUTIFUL ART MADE BY Herz_Herz_HRZ inspired by this chapter!!!! I'm so honoured that someone liked my silly little fic enough to be inspired by it !!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every drink I mention in this story is the last alcoholic drink I have had fun fact. I had a Bombay sapphire which, in my personal experience, tastes like moth balls but it makes me think of summer time so :) 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have exams that i should study 4 but instead im watching anime and uploading this at 3am

Paul returned to the apartment in the morning in a very pleasant mood. He even made breakfast for Flake and himself. 

“I take it you had a good night" Flake said, cleaning his glasses on his pyjama top while looking at Paul out of the corner of his eye, his mouth quirked into a sly smirk. Flake was also in a good mood this morning he felt giddy and light for some reason but he of course wasn't gonna tell Paul this and have to endure his incessant teases.

"I did in fact have a good night my dearest Flake''

And with that Paul went into an expressive and detailed telling of his night with Richard.

"He cooked dinner and I was surprised to find he was a good cook and very neat and proper when eating, then we watched a film he thought it was rubbish, but I actually kind of enjoyed it"

Flake simply ate his scrambled egg and nodded to whatever Paul was exclaiming. 

They spent the rest of the day sprawled on the sofa endlessly flicking through the TV channels while Paul plucked a few melodies on his beat up guitar.

Flake wasn't on the roster for tonight but after sitting alone at home for an hour without Paul to entertain him he decided he might as well go in off the clock to kick back and drink, after all what else is a young adult supposed to do with their free evenings? Schneider greeted him when he sat at the bar.

"Fancy seeing you here. What will I get you?"

Flake hesitated for a moment "Just get me a beer for now"

Schneider clicked his tongue. "Coming right up mister" 

A few beers and two coke and vodkas later Flake felt a presence sit down beside him. He looked to his side and saw none other than Till smiling softly at him. Flake made a slightly surprised expression and he frowned in confusion for a second. Part of his brain thought he was dreaming or hallucinating. A light shone just above Till making him look like an ethereal being. He was wearing a black tight fitting turtleneck top with thick suspenders and straight legged dark blue pants. 

"I hope I'm not bothering you" Till said, his smile falling. 

Flake stared at him blankly for a moment, those few drinks were having an impact on his thought process. When he had finally deciphered what was going on he all but shouted out

"No!"

Till seemed taken aback by his loud outburst. Flake looked down at his drink quickly.

"No of course not" he said at normal volume. "I just didn't expect to see you tonight that's all."

"Hm well I was hoping for another recommendation but seeing as you are not working I guess I won't be getting one"

Flake smirked and cocked his head to the side and he lifted his coke and vodka and swirled the glass as he said

"My recommendations are really only a paid service, but for you, I can make an exception"

Till grinned at him, his bright green eyes seemed to shine a bit, well at least to Flake’s drunk mind they seemed to shine.

"Oi Frau over here" Flake called, waving his hand obnoxiously. 

Schneider approached giving Till an interested gaze. He looked him up and down before turning to Flake. 

"What do you want Flake?"

"Till here" Flake started, placing his hand on Till’s shoulder "will have a From Russia with love"

Schneider pouted his lips and smirked, raising his brows at Flake before turning to make the drink. 

Schneider was sure to add two straws to Till’s cocktail, as he placed it in front of him he gave Flake a smirk and quirked his eyebrow at him and gave him a quick wink as a sign of moral support. Flake looked at him confused for a second before turning his attention back to Till. The cocktail was bright red and smelt strongly of vodka. Flake gestured his hand as if to tell Till to taste it already.

Till leaned to the straw and took a small sip, Flake watching him expectantly with slight anticipation. After swallowing Till nodded.

"Is good." was all he said before taking another sip. Flake grabbed the other straw and mixed the drink a bit before taking a generous sip. 

"I make them better " he grumbled.

Till laughed loudly. 

"You'll have to make me one sometime then" he chuckled.

Flake stared at him with fondness, in his drunk haze he felt very content to watch Till laugh and smile. His straight hair was almost a golden brown where the bars over head light shone on it, it seemed to perfectly flop gracefully down over his left eye. From afar Till looked rough and unkept but looking at him now, Flake thought he was probably the single most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

His reverie was harshly interrupted by an outbreak of noise nearby. Till and Flake whipped their heads towards the source of the noise to see Richard standing very close to another man. Both looked tense and full of rage.

"Apologise to him right now." Richard spat into the other man's face leaning closer threateningly. 

"Or what pansy?" 

Richard gritted his teeth and took a swing, hitting the man with a solid left hook. 

Then a lot happened at once, a lot for poor Flake’s drunk mind to process. Till had rushed to the scene standing between Richard and the man. Just as he did so however the man had decided to throw a punch at Richard. Flake watched in drunk confusion which quickly turned to shock which then turned to horror as he witnessed the man punch Till point blank in the nose. For a moment Till stumbled back and looked dazed, he slowly lifted his hand up to his nose where dark blood smeared his hand. 

Before the guy could throw a second punch Till lunged at him, knocking him into a bar stool. They grappled on the floor for a while before Till was on top of the man and pummelling him relentlessly. Seeing Till so remorseless and violent sent a cold shiver through Flake. It was like he was a completely different person than the Till who had laughed with him and lent him his jacket. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were blank and unfeeling as his punches rained down onto the now bloodied man. 

Suddenly Till seemed to come to his senses. He stood up quickly, leaving the man to writhe in pain on the floor. The bouncer finally appeared and was about to grab Till when Flake, who, after witnessing such a scene was now quite sober, intervened, telling the bouncer to go check the other man and that he'd handle Till himself. Richard was sitting on the bar top, Paul was fretting as he gently wrapped a bandage around his knuckles. Richard looked at him softly and with fondness in his blue eyes as he smoked a cigarette with his other hand. 

Flake took hold of Till’s forearm and led him into the back room and into the staff only bathroom. There, he sat him on the toilet seat and released his hold on his arm. He then opened the cupboard under the sink and retrieved the first aid kit. He pulled out alcoholic wet wipes and returned to Till. He gingerly placed his long fingers under Till's chin and gently tilted his head back. Till looked at him through narrowed eyes. Flake began gently dabbing at the dark crimson blood that clung to Till's face. 

Till had sustained a ferocious blood nose, a gash across the bridge of his nose and Flake could see that he had a black eye blooming. They sat in silence as Flake cleaned off the remaining blood. Till's eyes darted from the bathroom tile floor to Flake's face while Flake kept his eyes on his task intently. Till noticed how he screwed up his eyes and bit his top lip when concentrated. When he was satisfied with his work, Flake picked up a band aid from the first aid kit.

With his free hand he tenderly pushed Till's cheek to the side and then applied the band aid to the cut on his nose with focus and precision. Till saw his deadly serious expression and without thinking he carefully grabbed Flake's hand and moved it to his lips where he lightly kissed his palm and then his fingers.

"Thank you doctor."

Till made a lopsided smile, awkwardly trying to try to diffuse the uncomfortable silence in the room. Flake's face still wore a serious expression but it had softened slightly. The blonde leaned forward and delicately placed a kiss onto the space between Till’s temple and forehead. He leaned back slowly and saw Till looking up at him looking flustered. Flake felt heat rise in his own face as his eyes widened and he tried to think of something to say to cover up the intimate exchange that had just taken place. The two men looked at each other, sunken deep green eyes looking into wide clear blue eyes. Both men jumped in surprise when the bathroom door slammed open. 

"Ah Flake, there you are! Richard is driving us home let's go"

Paul looked from Flake to Till, and then did so again this time with a questioning glare. Richard appeared behind Paul then. 

"Oi Till I can give you a ride home too"

He looked uncomfortably to the side and scratched the back of his neck. 

"Thanks for helping me out back there by the way"

Till waved his hand "Don't mention it" he dismissed. 

"Well ladies, I don't know about you but I am sure ready to call it a night" Paul said loudly clapping his hands together.

Him and Richard turned in the doorway, Richard putting his arm around his shoulder and Paul wrapping his arm around the small of Richard's back.

Flake quickly put the first aid kit back and as he started on his way towards the doorway he felt a small grasp on his fingers. He looked back to see Till lightly holding his hand in his own. Flake, feeling a sense of confidence, firmly grasped Till’s hand.

They walked in comfortable silence out of the bar while Paul and Richard chatted and bickered and they didn't release each other's hands while they stood and waited for Paul to lock up. And still, they held each other's hand even in the back of Richard’s small car in the dark night, only illuminated by passing headlights, only letting go when they had reached Flake and Paul's apartment. Paul gave Richard a quick kiss on the cheek and Till gave Flake’s hand a squeeze before letting go. 

Paul and Flake were both exhausted after their eventful night and so they ate dinner in silence with the news on the TV in the background. Typical politics bullshit, more decomposed remains found, the weather should be getting warmer by the end of this week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> speaking of decomposed remains they found skeletal remains near where i live today ,,,,,scary 
> 
> I had a from Russia with love today for the first time today it's sooo good yall  
> Also idk if this is a universal thing or not but no matter how wasted i am if something serious happens i will sober up asap and try fix the situation so thats what happened to poor Flake in this one


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me procrastinating doing my geology assignment by uploading this chapter :(  
> Also I need ye all to know that Schiße by Lady Gaga IS Frau Schneider’s mfing SONG ik it wasn't released in the time this story is set but just know that it is her song and if it existed in the 90s it would be the song she does her to set to. Also im reallyyyy bad at spelling and i guarantee i have or will spell Schneider wrong like 80 times  
> Also everytime i upload a chapter im like :( i cud of done this better smh so maybe sum day i'll make a remastered version of this fic idk

Neither Paul nor Flake were working today but they decided to drop by the bar to watch and support Schneider's drag performance. He performed under the name Frau Schneider and wore a blonde wig, red, or occasionally pink, lipstick and usually dorned a pencil skirt or some type of tight fitting slip dress. Everyone could agree that he made quite the convincing woman, and a very beautiful woman at that. Schneider often told Flake and Paul about the "straight" men who would pay "her" for private performances.

The two blondes watched Frau Schneider’s powerful performance. She had a way of captivating the audience. She played a domineering character and usually chose victims from the audience to aggressively lap dance on. They watched in glee and amusement as their friend terrorised these poor men.

"Your  _ boyfriend  _ not showing up tonight?" Flake teased.

Without looking at Flake Paul smiled fondly and answered 

"Nope, he's gone to see family tonight"

Flake turned to Paul, wide eyed. Paul didn't deny the use of "boyfriend" in Flake's jab which meant…..

"When!?" Flake demanded.

Paul grinned marvelously at the reaction he was able to get from the usually restrained and unmoved Flake. 

"After the fight" he smiled fondly again reminiscing "I'm officially off the market, my days of flirting with men for tips are over" he jokingly sighed. 

"What a tragedy for the poor lonely men of Berlin" Flake droned sarcastically sighing dramatically. 

He couldn't fake a sarcastic woeful expression for long though, he smiled softly, he was happy for Paul, him and Richard seemed very happy when they were together. But there was a small bitter smidgen of jealousy in Flake’s gut that he just couldn't shake. 

When Frau Schneider had ended her set the duo met her at the bar and complimented her performance. Paul summoned Oliver over and opened a tab for Schneider under his card for the night. Oliver raised his eyebrows in shock and Flake gave Paul an incredulous stare, his eyes almost bulging from his head. Schneider gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek 

"My sweet Paulchen I'll use your savings well don't you worry!" 

Paul and Flake said goodbye and started on their way home. 

"What the hell was that about?!" Flake burst. "You know how much she drinks after a performance, you're gonna be stone broke" 

"Sorry Flake you wouldn't understand, I'm just a kind person with a heart of gold that's all" Paul pretended to speak like a posh snob, placing his hand stiffly on his heart.

Flake continued to glare at him.

"Fine truth is I'm in a good mood, she did a good set, plus good karma and all that. I mean technically I've done a good deed for myself because it'll come back to me so" 

Flake stared blankly at him for a moment before smirkly slyly at him. 

"Ok lover boy, I see, you've turned over a good leaf now to impress the love of your life".

Paul's pale face began to turn pink. 

"Hey shut up I've always been a nice person, stop this slander!" 

Their playful conversation was interrupted abruptly by the sudden appearance of a presence in their way. In front of them on the pavement stood a dark shadow barely illuminated by the dim streetlights. The figure was hunched and could be heard heavily breathing. The two blondes looked at eachother out of the side of their eyes and then back to the figure.

Flake was overcome by anxiety. He had an awful sense of foreboding penetrating his mind. He had always been an anxious and paranoid individual so this feeling wasn't new. However he couldn't believe how truly intense his anxiety was in this moment. His heart beat so aggressively that it ached. His stomach was tying itself in tightly bound knots. He felt like something terrible was about to happen. 

Paul grasped Flake's wrist and beckoned him as he made his way to walk around the hunched figure. The figure, upon closer inspection appeared to be a man around 40 years old. 

The man, without warning, lunged at the two men, knocking them to the rough ground. Flake instantly scrambled backwards on his hands and legs. He flailed his hands frantically across the floor hoping to find his glasses which had been knocked off in the sudden chaos. He was also searching for Paul, hoping to feel his warm body so he could grab him and they could both run away together. 

His hands, cut and skimmed from scraping the hard tar ground finally found his glasses and he put them shakily onto his face. He could hear Paul shouting and struggling and hear the man grunting. Flake could barely breathe. He could see their silhouettes in the dark lighting. It appeared the man was on top of Paul trying to hold him down. He had an iron grip on Paul's neck and was repeatedly slamming his head onto the hard ground. Flake fumbled in his pockets hoping for a key or something,  _ anything,  _ he could use to strike the attacker with. He knew he was too weak to knock the attacker out with just himself. He reached into the large inside pockets of Till’s bomber jacket, which he had still forgotten to return to him and had worn tonight because it was a particularly cold night. 

Cold metal stung his hand, he gripped whatever it was and pulled it out of his pocket. He looked at it, glinting in the streetlight. A hunting knife. Paul's cries were getting quieter and more muffled now. Flake quickly pounced onto his long legs and tackled the man to the floor. In the moment of surprise Flake had the advantage. Wasting no time, as he towered above the man, he drove the knife into his shoulder just below the clavicle. The man screamed out in pain a guttural and horrible sound. Flake took the knife out and quickly stabbed him again this time just above the man's shoulder. 

The man blacked out from the intense pain. Flake removed the knife again but kept it in his hand just in case. He urgently flew to Paul's side. 

"Paul, Paulie are you okay?" 

Flake leaned down over the small man and cradled his face. He was unconscious, his neck was red and bruises were forming already. He had scratches and cuts along his right cheek bone. 

Just then another figure appeared in the dark alley. Flake tightened his hold on the knife.

"Help please! Call help!" he cried to the figure. 

He was worried Paul needed urgent medical help. The figure walked under a beam of the streetlight.

"Flake?" 

Flake looked up at the familiar voice and saw Till's face partially lit up by the streetlight. There was an expression of shock and confusion on his face. His brow furrowed as he just gaped at the scene in front of him. He shifted stiffly for a moment. 

"T-Till! Call help p-please Paul he's -" he was cut off as his voice hitched in his throat as he felt tears rising.

Till approached him suddenly then crouching close to him and putting one hand around Flake's shaking shoulder reached into his pocket with the other and retrieved a Nokia mobile phone. He called emergency services and explained the situation and gave the location. The responder told them the police would be 10 minutes and the ambulance would be 20 minutes and that they should keep checking Paul's vitals and call back if he stopped breathing. 

While they waited for the services to appear Flake shook uncontrollably as he stroked Paul's hair willing his friend to wake up and be okay. In turn Till held Flake close and put his head on top of Flake's and rocked them slightly, occasionally pressing his mouth to Flake's head, trying to soothe him. 

The police arrived and Flake explained what had happened shakily. Till continued to comfort him, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze from time to time. The police inspected the attacker who was just stirring to consciousness. One officer gave Flake a suspicious glare and inquired to know where Flake had gotten the hunting knife to defend himself from.

"I- uh it was-'' Flake stuttered "it was in the jacket I was wearing" 

The officer hardened his glare. 

"Sir you do know it's illegal to carry concealed weapons. Why was it in your jacket?"

"It's not his jacket."

Till suddenly burst in, almost in a growl. 

"It's mine"

Flake looked up at him. He had a hard facial expression, it was unreadable.

"I lent my jacket to my friend here a few nights ago because it was a particularly cold evening. I had a knife in it because I hunt and one usually needs a hunting knife when hunting. And before you ask, yes I have a hunting permit." 

The end of his sentence was said with a sneer. He glared back at the officer who pursed his lips.

"You both will be expected to make a complete statement tomorrow" 

and with that he turned on his heel and joined his colleagues crowded around the attacker.

The ambulance arrived and carried Paul on a stretcher into the ambulance. Till and Flake were allowed to sit in the back of the ambulance while the paramedics worked on him. They suspect a concussion and damage to the voice box but they couldn't be sure until a full assessment was done at the hospital. 

Flake and Till spent the night in the hospital waiting room. Flake insisted that Till should go home and sleep and that he'll be okay in the hospital alone. Till of course dismissed this, insisting that he wants to stay with Flake.

“Like I said before, it's for my own conscience” he stated, giving Flake a quick smile.

Flake can't stop staring at his own hands. He had spent long in the hospital bathroom trying to scrub the blood stains off his hands. Scrubbing and scrubbing until his hands were raw and red but still he felt dirty and blood stained. 

"Do you really hunt?" he suddenly asked, still staring at his hands.

Till looked at him for a moment, pensive. 

"Yes." he answered. 

"How do you do it? How do you hurt something living without feeling bad?"

Till hummed and held his chin in his hand as he thought hard about an appropriate response.

"I try to make it quick. That way I'm not hurting them, not really. I've hunted all my life, I know where to strike to ensure they die quickly and essentially painlessly." 

Flake just gave a dull "Hm." in response. 

A silence overcame them then, save for the beeping of monitoring and shuffling of doctors, nurses or patients through the hallways. Flake tried to fight back a yawn but to no avail. He was incredibly exhausted. The aftermath of his adrenaline rush was catching up to him. His entire body and his head ached severely but he didn't want to sleep. He was too worried about Paul. He moved his head slightly and groaned in pain at the migraine that penetrated his head. Till gave him a concerned look, lines of worry showing in his brow. 

"You should try to rest." 

He gently stretched his large arm around Flake's shoulder.

"Don't worry I'll wake you if there's any news about Paul."

Flake protested but at the same time he let his eyes flutter shut as he slumped in the hospital chair and dipped his head onto Till's shoulder. The last thing he took note of before sleep enveloped him in it's arms was Till's soft breathing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did like junior paramedic training for like 2 years so I tried my hardest to remember all the shit I learned for this chapter because I was too lazy to look up medical stuff up.   
> ALSO IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO PERFORM CPR OR THE HEIMLICH MANOEUVRE LEARN IT ASAP BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT!! I have already had to use heimlich on a family member and if I was the one choking I would of died because no one in my house knew the heimlich so learn that shit yall im warning ya


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry for the late upload !!! i have exams and also i was trynaa finish the next few chapters properly before uploading this one but.....life gets in the way .  
> also i was high when i wrote some of this chapter so sorry for that aswell ig ???? hope yall enjoy !!!

The police came to the hospital and escorted Till and Flake separately to the station to get a statement. They would have to wait for Paul to come to to get any kind of statement out of him. Flake returned to the hospital after his trip to the station while Till was still being interviewed by the authorities. The nurse happily informed him that Paul had gained consciousness and that he was now allowed to visit him in his room. Flake rushed into Paul's room. Paul was lying on the hospital bed sitting up slightly. His head was wrapped in bandages and he had a band aid on his cheek. He also had a neck brace. His pale, bruised and tired face smiled at Flake when he entered the room. Flake wore a worried expression. 

"Paul" he exclaimed quietly "how do you feel?" 

He sat on the white plastic chair next to Paul's bed and grasped his hand in his own as a sign of platonic affection. Paul grinned appreciating the gesture.

"Flake" he croaked.

His throat was pretty badly damaged from the attack so he struggled to talk. Hearing his friend's pained voice Flake felt a pang of guilt in his heart. He wished it had been himself and not Paul who had gotten the worst of the attack. 

Flake could see that Paul couldn't do much talking and knowing his friend he definitely wanted a light hearted conversation to distract him from his pain. Flake started a jokingly serious rant about the episode of reality TV that was playing on the hospital waiting room TV. He knew Paul was always amused by his grumpy rants. Flake ranted and raved over dramatically about the petty reality TV events, flailing his hands frantically.

"Well miss plastic surgery if you didn't want Kimberly to steal your man you shouldn't have been running your mouth to Lisa about how much of a fake bitch Kimberly is!" Flake exclaimed indignantly, folding his arms roughly as if to make a point. 

Paul burst out laughing, closing his eyes and throwing his head back slightly. Flake's fake frown faltered and he smiled at his friend, satisfied that he was able to distract him from his pain. 

Just then a visitor burst in- Richard, looking slightly flushed, his eyes were wide in panic and stress. Till stood awkwardly in the doorway behind him.

Flake and Till both decided to wait until morning before informing Richard of the night's events, after all there was no point in waking him in the middle of the night just to worry him. After making his statement with the police Till went to Richard's house and explained the situation. Their decision to keep Richard in the dark earned Till a rough whack across the head. Richard was understandably livid but his violent outburst was simply a way to mask the worry and fear he felt for his boyfriend. He rushed Till into his car and drove them, maybe slightly over the speed limit, to the hospital. On the drive, after his initial shock and anxiety had somewhat cleared, he exhaled and stiffly apologised to Till for hitting him. "don't worry about it" Till mumbled in response. 

Richard instantly rushed to Paul's bedside and kissed his bandaged head and then gently hugged him.

"Reesh, I'm fine" Paul said quietly.

He pushed Richard back lightly to look him in the eye, grinning softly. He ran his hand through Richard's dark hair and then cupped his sculpted cheeks in his hands. Paul's eyes fluttered closed as he pulled Richard into a tender kiss. 

Flake felt suddenly very out of place. He made eye contact with Till who was still just standing uncomfortably at the door. Flake rose from the plastic chair, his knees cracking audibly. This sudden sound caused Paul to turn his face away from Richard for a brief moment. 

"Flake" Paul's strained voice said "you should sleep, you look terrible"

Paul grinned mischievously at his friend who scrunched up his nose and gave him a death stare.

"You're one to talk Landers" Flake retorted, walking to the doorway.

"I'll head to the apartment and I'll bring you back some clean clothes"

Flake waved and then he brushed against Till as he left the room. Till muttered a quick "bye see you later" before he turned and trailed after Flake.

"Richard gave me his car keys, I can drop you to your apartment. I can't imagine you're in much of a state to walk there." Till said, struggling slightly to keep up with Flake's fast long legged pace. 

They passed the drive to Flake and Paul's apartment with idle small talk. After Till had parked the car in front of the apartment, Flake slowly unbuckled his seatbelt. There seemed to be a tense atmosphere in the car, Flake felt like there were some unspoken words that should be said. He sat with his mouth slightly opening staring into space for a moment, panicking internally as he tried to think of what to say. 

"Would you like to come in for some tea or coffee?" he finally said, his voice cracking a bit at the first word. 

He eyed Till with an awkward toothy smile. Till looked at him slowly, he had an unreadable expression, his eyes flashed with a dark look that gave Flake a sudden pang of fear. He blinked hard, and sure enough when he opened his eyes Till was giving him a goofy smile and staring at him with soft eyes. Flake shook his head a little, the attack must be getting to his head. His anxiety and paranoia is sure to have increased after such an event, he must be seeing things. 

"I can never say no to coffee." Till responded.

Flake exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding in, he exited the car. Till followed him to the apartment door and stood by while Flake fiddled with the keys. He swung the door open and gestured for Till to walk in first. With his hands in his pants pocket, he stiffly strode into Flake and Paul's living room. 

The kitchen was composed of a brass sink, a counter top where a rusty toaster and grimy microwave sat, a small refrigerator and an island with two elevated seats which overlooked the open living room. The living room had a grey ratty sofa and a small box TV. There were magazines and notebooks strewn around the floor, a battered acoustic guitar leaned against the exposed brick wall near the large window and a dusty keyboard lay on the wooden floor in the corner of the room. 

"Sorry this place is so messy, you can sit on the sofa while I make your coffee" Flake rushed, feeling moderately flustered. It had been so long since anyone other than Schneider or Oli had been a guest at their home. Flake bit his lip, hoping he could be an appropriate host; although he worked in a socially demanding job, people pleasing wasn't exactly his forte. 

"How do you like your coffee?" 

"Just black is fine thank you" 

While Flake's got to work on the coffee and tea, Till sat on the sofa, one leg spread open with his ankle resting over his other knee. He was wearing black high waisted straight legged pants, a grey long sleeved sweater and chunky heeled boots.

While the kettle boiled Flake raced to the bedroom and retrieved some clean clothes for Paul. He returned and dropped them near the door and then continued his task of making tea and coffee. Till and him engaged in breezy small talk, Flake explaining how long Paul and himself had lived in the apartment. 

Flake carried the cups of tea and coffee over slowly, concentrating intensely so as to not spill any liquid on their floor. Till stood suddenly and took a step forward to help Flake with the drinks. He cupped his two big hands around the mug that held the darker liquid, assuming that this was his coffee. His hands and Flake's hand that was still holding the mug lingered together for a prolonged time before Till picked the mug out of Flake's grasp and sat down again. 

Flake's heart fluttered and beat frantically in his chest which he wrote off as heightened anxiety as a result of the attack, but the attack couldn't be blamed for the small blush growing on his face. 

Flake sat down beside Till, clasping the cup of tea in his bony hands between his open knees. Till took an audible sip of his coffee. 

Flake went to lift his tea to his mouth but caught a glimpse of his hands. Seeing his hands, that only mere hours ago were stained with the blood of another, sent a whirlpool of panic and negative emotions into Flake's brain. A million thoughts erupted painfully in his mind and suddenly tears were welling in his eyes. He almost never cried but something overwhelming came over him in this moment. 

Still staring at his skeletal hands tightly gripping his tea, tears streamed down his face furiously, humid and wet. His tea sloshed slightly in the cup as his hands were shaking now. He bit his bottom lip with so much force it broke skin and caused metallic blood to invade his taste buds, trying to desperately push back this sudden overwhelming feeling. 

"Flake, are you alright there?" a deep voice brought him back to reality. 

He whipped his head erratically and looked at Till, quivering, wide eyed. Till looked at him with confusion and genuine concern. Flake opened his mouth to answer "yea I'm fine why do you ask?" but instead a wracked sob broke out of his pink, and now cut lips. 

Till's eyes widened and lines formed on his forehead. He swiftly placed his coffee mug on the floor and gently pried Flake's tea cup out of his white knuckled grip and placed it on the floor as well. He put his arm around Flake's hunched form and with his other hand, encased both of Flake's stiff hands in his own. Flake continued to sob uncontrollably as Till tenderly lent back onto the back of the sofa and carefully tilted Flake's blonde head onto space between Till's shoulder and neck. There he sat embracing the trembling man, running one of his hands through his hair. 

At a loss for what to do to help calm the hysterical man, Till started quietly humming a melody. Flake's sobs became less violent then. 

"c-can you sing something, please?" his strained voice was muffled by Till's chest. 

Till cocked his neck to look in surprise at the man's request but his face was looking down and hidden by Till's broad chest. 

"uh yea sure" Till muttered back, searching his brain for an appropriate song to sing. 

"this is one my mother used to sing to me when I was little" 

His deep voice started singing softly, Flake could feel it rumbling in his chest. 

"ohne dich kann ich nicht sein, ohne dich" 

Till's soothing gentle voice interrupted the dark thoughts and memories racing in Flake's mind. He suddenly stopped sobbing and slowly lifted his head. 

His puffy and red blue eyes stared in awe at Till who was staring at the wall while he continued to sing casually. Flake scanned his whole face, scars, stubble, beautiful muted green eyes and finally, lips. Dark pink lips with a perfect and symmetrical cupids bow. Till noticed Flake's intense gaze and turned his head slightly to look at his bright eyes. 

Flake inhaled deeply with his nose and with his mouth slightly agape, he straightened his posture and leaned towards Till. Till's singing trailed off quietly, as he two began leaning towards the other man. Flake tilted his square chin slightly to the side as he inched in closer and his eyes fluttered shut. 

They both continued to lean in with growing anticipation until, at the last second, Till moved his eyes from Flake's lips to his closed eyes and then he bit his lip and quickly kissed Flake's temple. 

Flake slowly opened his eyes looking dumbfounded. Till could feel heat rising to his face and he opened his mouth to say something but closed it a few times before clearing his throat awkwardly. 

"I think you should probably get some rest" he said, averting his gaze from Flake. "Plus I should probably get Richard's car back to him and drop off those clean clothes for Paul" 

Flake just nodded and made a quiet sound of agreement, feeling a little dazed. Once he fully realises what's happening he frantically stands and grabs the two cups. He walks briskly to the kitchen where he dumps the now cold tea in the sink and begins rinsing it harshly.

"You didn't even get to finish your coffee I'm sorry, I'm sorry about that I don't know what came over me I swear I'm not some crybaby or anything -" 

His nervous ramble was cut off by Till's heavy hand on his thin shoulder. Halting in his task, he glances sideways at the hand on his shoulder. 

"It's okay Flake, really" he speaks so genuinely it makes Flake's heart ache a little.

"and thank you for the coffee." 

With that he turns and leaves. Flake can hear the car engine start and drive away. He drags himself into bed and falls into a deep sleep almost the second his head hits the pillow. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like everyting i write is insanely cheesy and cringe , but guess what , im a gay ass bicth who is also cheesy and cringe so im jus writing what ik babey!!! B) fr tho i hope i dont disappoint ye with this story


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tis new years 2nite yall while im writin this draft, i genuinely hope me and YOU reading this and everyone on earth has a better 2021 fr fr i dont think i can take a bad 2021 im already at my damn limit, anyway now im drinking rum, which if youll remember from the first chapter is Till's drink of choice  
> Also this one wil be looong sorry if its boring and it'll have ALOT of cheesy clichés cos I'm a stupid hopeless romantics like that ;-P  
> :) hi guys gays and goths, i am in a good mood rn cos i jus finished my last exam yeaaaa booooyyyyyy  
> this chapter took me fucking AGGGGEEEEEESSSSSS to fucking write because i kept procrastinating writing the bits i found difficult to write oops as u can see i literally started on new years and i only finished it last night  
> WARNING THERE WILL BE NSFW STUFF IN THIS CHAPTER SO IF YOURE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THAT STUFF PROCEED WITH CAUTION its not very vivid tho tbh

The man who had brutally attacked Paul and Flake was called Julius Dietrich and on the 22nd of January he was tried and convicted of assault and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Although there was no evidence to charge him with the three murders that had taken place in the area during the prior weeks, he was highly suspected to be the perpetrator. 

Paul was finally discharged from hospital and fortunately suffered no serious prolonged effects, save from frequent headaches every now and again. Richard, Paul Flake and Till entered their small run down apartment and were greeted happily by Schneider and Oliver, who had taken the liberty of cleaning Paul and Flake's apartment as a welcome home gift. 

Oliver then presented a large cake with white fondant icing with blue frosting with the words 'welcome home' scrawled on it. 

"Oliver made that all by himself by the way, who knew he had such great baking skills! He remains as mysterious as the day I met him I swear!" Schneider exclaimed approaching Paul and giving his short blonde hair a gentle affectionate ruffle. 

"Thank you Oliver, you really are an enigma" Paul laughed. 

"Congratulations Paulchen!" Schneider announced producing a blue balloon from behind his back. The balloon said 'it's a boy!' and had a picture of a baby bottle on it. Everyone except Schneider frowned at it in confusion. 

"They didn't have any 'get well soon' or 'welcome home' ones okay, this was the closest I could get" Schneider shrugged. 

The six men sat on cushions in the living room, eating Oliver's fantastic cake and joking and laughing amongst themselves. Richard kept his arm firmly wrapped around Paul's waist and laughed loudly at the embarrassing stories about Paul that Flake, Oliver and Schneider were sharing. Paul just rolled his eyes and smiled, interjecting now again to correct them on certain details while stuffing his face with cake. 

An abrupt knock interrupted Oliver telling a story about how Paul had almost set the bar on fire twice in one hour. Flake stood onto his long legs and answered the door. It was their landlord who they rarely ever saw. He was a short round red faced man with greying black hair. 

"I apologise for the short notice but you two have to be out of here by tonight" he stated. 

Flake opened his mouth to ask why but the man continued 

"The apartment upstairs is invested with termites, we're gonna exterminate the whole complex early tomorrow morning so unless you want to be breathing in poisonous gases when you wake up I suggest you find somewhere else to stay for a while" he explained. 

Flake nodded and replied a quick "will do" before the landlord turned and left. Flake closed the door slowly and returned to the group who were now all sitting in silence and looking at Flake expectantly. 

"Well, who was it and what did they want?" Paul asked. 

Flake relayed what their landlord had told him. 

"Should we book a hotel or something? Did he say how long we had to be gone for?" Paul inquired, his blue eyes uncharacteristically serious. 

Flake shook his head in reply. 

"I'm sorry guys, you could stay at mine but my mom is visiting this week" Oliver spoke up, looking apologetic. 

"I don't think my roommates would react well to having two more people living with us to be honest, sorry guys!" 

Schneider lived in shared accommodation with twenty other people, they each had their own small room but shared one kitchen and four bathrooms. 

"not to mention all three of us would have to share my bed" he added.

"As if you haven't had three men in your bed before" Oliver quipped raising his brow.

"That may be true," Schneider replied mischievously, pursing his lips "but I don't think Flake or Paul here want to know me on that level just yet" 

" _Just_ _yet?_ How about never? With all due respect, Flake here _never_ wants to know you on that level Schneider” Flake declared, crossing his arms.

Schneider dropped his jaw and glared at Flake in an expression of disgust and insult.

“You two would never be able to afford me anyway” He retaliated, pretending to flick his non-existent long hair and check his nails like a diva.

"Paul you could stay with me" Richard spoke up quietly eyeing Paul slightly nervously. "Sorry Flake I just sold my sofa so unless one you have a spare mattress we could lay in my living room I don't know where you're gonna sleep" he added, cocking his head to the side and giving Flake an apologetic look. 

"You can stay at mine." Till said abruptly. When everyone in the room's eyes turned to him he looked suddenly awkward and embarrassed, instantly bowing his head a little and averting his gaze from anyone else's. There was a moment of silence before Paul loudly clapped his hand and exclaimed 

"Well, that settles it, Flake and I are taking a vacation from each other for the first time in what, like two years is it Flake?" 

"Yea that sounds about right Paulie '' Flake said smiling, pushing his thick glasses up his nose, trying to cover his faint blush. He didn't really understand why but his heart softened at Till’s generous offer.

"So glad this is all solved and so glad to see you safe and well Paul Schätzchen but I've got a date to get ready for " Schneider stood up from his cushion, kissed his hand and then pressed it to Paul's head, "and by date I mean job interview so I should be going" 

Everyone else gradually stirred to their feet as well. Till arched his back and it made an audible cracking noise. Paul yawned and lifted his hand to massage his temple a little, prompting to Richard furrow his brow in worry. He quietly advised Paul to take his pain medication again. 

"Ah shit! I'm gonna be late picking my mom up from the train station" Oliver announced looking at his watch.

He paced briskly towards the door where Schneider was busy shrugging on his jacket.

"Paul, I hope you feel better soon, you can take as long as you want off work, don't worry about it! It was great to see you guys" Oliver stated, opening the front door with his right hand and raising his left hand to a wave. Schneider swiftly brushed past him and slid out the door first, craning his neck back in to say " Auf Wiedersehn meine Liebe!" before ducking his head out quickly. Oliver rolled his eyes, and left, closing the door behind him uttering a goodbye. 

Richard was already filling a glass of water for Paul and retrieving his pain medication. 

"Paul, I'll go grab us our pyjamas, some clothes and our toothbrushes." and with that Flake strode to their bedroom, grabbed two duffel bags from under his bed and started rooting through Paul's drawers. He assumed three sets of clothes would be more than enough, of course remembering to pack underwear as well. Then he did the same to his wardrobe and when he was satisfied he zipped the bags partially up and heaved them onto each of his shoulders. He then shoved open the bathroom door and grabbed their toothbrushes. 

Flake returned to the living room where Till instantly approached him and took one of the bags from him, easing his load. Till flashed him a quick innocent smile which Flake returned. 

Richard dropped Flake and Till off outside Till’s house. They all said their goodbyes and then Richard sped away with Paul leaning out the passenger seat waving delightfully back at them.

Till’s place was in an area even more run down and decrepit than Flake and Paul’s apartment, which was really saying something. Till’s house wasn't so much of a house it was more of a small brown bricked block with a grey roof and 4 small square windows, one of which Flake noticed seemed to be boarded up. More brown bricked houses crowded the surrounding area, some with barbed wire fences around them.

Flake couldn't help but to stare at the building with his mouth open slightly. He didn't know why but this place gave him a bad feeling. Dogs could be heard barking nearby and the sky here just seemed greyer than usual. Till looked at Flake’s expression nervously out of the corner of his eye.

“I'm planning on finding a better place,” He blurted, “if I stay working at the factory for longer that is... . This is the best I could find on short notice though.” Till said apologetically looking down and toeing the pavement lightly with his boot.

“It's perfectly fine,“ Flake said, turning his head to smile widely at Till. “Paul and I once lived in his old car for a week I'm sure I'll survive”

Till looked at him and returned the smile but he was biting his bottom lip, still looking nervous. Till unlocked the iron front door and pushed it open harshly with his shoulder while simultaneously kicking in the bottom of the door.

"The door is a little tough to open." Till muttered under his breath as he let it swing open roughly, hitting the wall inside with a bang. He gestured with his right hand for Flake to enter. 

"After you gentleman" Till said, smirking brightly. 

"Thank you good sir" Flake replied grinning as he pretended to tip his non-existent hat at Till. 

The apartment opened into the kitchen which was a small room with black and white tiles. There was a thick square wooden table with three wooden chairs around it in the middle of the room. There was beige coloured marble counters and dark wooden wall cupboards along one of the walls of the room. Against the other wall stood a refrigerator and hob oven and a basin sink. 

"I'll give you a quick tour." Till said, scratching his eyebrow awkwardly. "This is the kitchen, obviously..." he gestured with his arms at the small room. 

"Whaaaat? No way, I never would have guessed!" Flake gasped dramatically, smirking at Till who gave him a quick sneer before smiling softly. 

He stepped backwards into the small hallway and indicated to the door on the right. 

"In here's the living room, I don't have a television so it's basically just a room with a sofa and a cardboard box I use as a coffee table" Till chuckled. 

Till continued the tour by leading Flake up his small and cramped carpeted staircase. Flake took note of how dirty and stained the carpet was. What Flake suspected was once a yellowish cream carpet was now mostly dark dirty yellow and covered in brownish stains. 

Upstairs is a very small hallway with a cramped and low ceiling. There are two doors on either side of the hallway. Till put his hand on one of the door handles and then hesitated, opening his mouth to say something but closing it a few times, his eyes were looking at the ceiling. 

"For the record, this place looked this bad when I got here okay? Especially the bathroom." 

Flake laughed lightly, throwing his head back. 

"Don't worry Till, it can't be worse than ours after Paul has takeaway food" he said, still laughing at Till's embarrassment. He regained himself and looked at Till. His joke didn't seem to do much to sooth Till's nerves though, he was still staring at Flake seriously, somewhat intensely. Flake furrowed his brow now becoming morbidly curious as to what could be so troubling about this bathroom. 

Till slowly opened the door to reveal a grey tiled bathroom with a large bath and grey shower curtain and a small boarded up window. The toilet was white with a brown wooden toilet seat and the sink jut out from the wall where pipes were visual. Flake took a step in trying to identify what could be so bad about this room; and that's when he fully saw the state of the bathtub.

It was absolutely filthy. The entire thing was stained brown and suddenly Flake noticed the rancid smell that was being emitted into the room. He scrunches up his nose up in response to the smell. 

"I tried to warn you." Till said from the doorway, looking somewhat amused by Flake's disgust. Flake continued to look around to see what other horrors were hiding in this shitty excuse for a bathroom. 

"I tried to ask my landlord what the hell happened to the tub but he's not one for chit chat so, the cause of this monstrosity remains a mystery." Till explained crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. 

Flake finished his 360 degree analysis of the room and was relieved to find that nothing else in the bathroom seemed as gross. He was going to speak up and ask Till why in hell's name would he ever settle for living in this shit hole of an apartment, but he shut himself up. After all he wasn't one to talk, his own apartment certainly wasn't perfect, plus he remembered that Till had only very recently moved here after he had found work at the factory so it was probably really the best he could afford at this point. 

Flake doesn't want to offend Till or make him feel insecure about his living situation so he inhales deeply through his mouth (to avoid smelling that putrid smell) and turns to Till grinning,

"Please continue with the tour dear sir" he says before exhaling his breath. 

Till is staring at him intense and questioning, his brow is low shadowing his eyes slightly. He relaxes his stare and grins back at Flake when he seems satisfied with his silent interrogation. Then he swiftly turns in the doorway and strides to the other door in the small hallway and pushes it open. Flake follows behind him preparing himself for something equally as gross as the bathroom to be waiting behind the door. 

"This is the bedroom, pretty self explanatory" Till says, rushing in to pick up some clothes off of the floor and shove them into a drawer in his wardrobe. 

"Ah sorry for the mess, I wasn't prepared for company you know" 

Flake is barely listening, he's too busy scanning the room. It's a small square room with one single bed, a large wooden wardrobe and suddenly the only other piece of furniture in the room catches Flake's eye. 

Pressed into the corner of the room is an upright piano. Flake immediately makes a beeline to the piano and his fingers absentmindedly caress the keys. It looks very old, it's dark brown wood is worn at the edges and it has many scratches and splinters adorning it. The keys are yellowish, some of them chipped and around six of them are permanently pressed down, broken. 

Till notices that his irrelevant rambling is landing on deaf ears and he turns suspiciously to look at his guest. When he sees Flake staring intensely at the piano, he smiles and approaches him slowly. 

"Do you play?" Till asks curiously, leaning over Flake's shoulder. 

The sudden presence beside him causes Flake to jump. He jerks his thin fingers off the keys and turns his head away from Till. 

"No." he murmured, "Do you?" 

"Nope." Till rested his large hand upon the keys. "Well actually, I know a little bit." 

His left hand taps a quiet tune. Flake looks at him, he is looking down at the keys, a fond reminiscent expression on his face. 

"My mother used to play you see." Till says, continuing to play a simple melody in minor key that sounds poignant and melancholy. A dark and somewhat sad shadow passes over Till's eyes while still looking down at his hand. 

"I wasn't a very good student however" he chuckles as he plays the final note and turns to Flake smiling softly. 

"Was this piano her's?" Flake asks. 

"Nah, this is just part of the furniture, it was here when I came here, by the looks of it it's probably been here for years." 

Flake gives the piano another heavy stare before remembering he has work tonight and he should probably go in early to help Schneider set up. It was karaoke night so they'd have to set up the mic and screen. 

Till insisted on walking Flake to work, stating that he'd have to go pick up groceries anyway. So together they had a pleasant walk to Feurräder. Flake was secretly very grateful to have Till with him; after what had happened to him and Paul he was extra paranoid about walking dangerous areas alone. Till was a reassuring and comforting presence. 

When they made it to the bar Schneider greeted them. 

"Hey beanpole, hey beefcake" 

Flake scowled, rolling his eyes. "His name is Till." he deadpanned.

"I know that! What, did you think I was just using nicknames to cover up the fact that I totally forgot his name? Preposterous!" Schneider replied with an exaggerated laugh. Truth be told that was exactly what he was doing. He grinned and gave Flake a sly wink. 

Till returned the greeting awkwardly. Then he turned to Flake and scratched his neck 

"Well I'll go run my errands, I'll be back to walk you home after your shift" he confirmed. 

"What? Leaving already?" Schneider whined "Why don't you stay and help us set up? We could do with a nice strong man to carry some things around here. You can even have a drink, on me, I'd never let a handsome man like you work for free." he drawled, barely containing his glee when he eyed Flake and saw a sour look of what appeared to be jealousy forming on his face. 

Till hesitated looking confused and moderately conflicted, hesitating he looked to Flake for some guidance. Schneider grinned mischievously, making sly eye contact with Flake, who was glaring daggers at him but when he saw Schneider's delighted shit eating grin, he quickly put his hands on Till's shoulder and turned him 180 degrees and ushered him towards the door. 

"No no, Till has errands to run and things to do. Besides Oli doesn't pay you to get other men to do your job Schneider, I'm gonna make sure you break a sweat tonight for once in your life" Flake stated loudly, still beckoning Till out the door. 

Till had his head turned over his shoulder "Are you sure? I don't mind lending a hand" he was saying but Flake kept cutting him off assuring him that Schneider and him would be perfectly fine. Till caved and bid them farewell before leaving. 

Once Till was gone Flake turned to Schneider with a fuming glare. 'If looks could kill' Schneider thought, amused, as he faked an expression of confusion. 

"Why the dirty look Flake?" he said with his mouth agape. 

Flake just started getting to work moving the karaoke mic from the back room. He knew Schneider was just trying to bother him for his own entertainment. Most nights Schneider entertained himself in his shifts by teasing whoever was working as well that night and unfortunately for Flake tonight was his night for enduring Schneider’s incessant teases. 

"So when are you two gonna make it official? Schneider inquired innocently watching Flake, who just ignored him continuing intently in his work. 

'Ignore him' Flake thought 'just ignore him he finds pleasure in teasing you don't give him the satisfaction'

"That is assuming you guys aren't chuffed already." Schneider pressed, the smirk was audible in his tone. 

"He really is perfect boyfriend material, wouldn't you agree Flake?" 

The teases were finally starting to get to him, Flake's face instantly started heating up. 

"I - uh - w-what" He stuttered, he tried to collect himself and busy himself with his task, trying to hide his blushing face from Schneider's persistent gaze. 

"What are you even talking about Schneider? Did you drink before you came here or something? You're talking nonsense" Flake said in what he hoped was a tone that sounded nonchalant as he defensively crossed his arms. 

Schneider kissed his teeth loudly and reached out to grasp Flake's cheeks between his forefinger and thumb.

"Whatever you say mein kleiner Flake" he said pouting his lips while pinching Flake's cheeks so that his lips pouted slightly. "just make sure you're honest with yourself and remember men are the _worst_ I wouldn't wanna see little ol Flake get his heart broken." 

Flake's glare softened slightly as he recognised authentic concern in his friend's tone. Although Schneider loved to tease and joke about things, he cared deeply for his friend's and their wellbeing. In all his years of knowing Flake he'd never seen him so whipped with someone, hell he's never even seen him show slight interest in anyone until now. Schneider just hopes Flake is making the right decisions and thinking about things with his brain as opposed to just his heart. Schneider would hate to see him get his heart broken and become disillusioned with love altogether, God knows the guy is already so damn pessimistic. 

Flake just rolls his eyes and utters an annoyed “yea yea whatever you say and unhand me!” he tries to free his face from Schneider’s grasp. Schneider obliges, and gives him one last long and apprehensive stare, pouting his lips and chewing on the inside of his cheek.

Flake doesn't understand Schneider’s concern, he's not doing anything rash or extreme, he's simply just going with the flow, him and Till are just close friends right? And if him and Till were to become very very close friends so to speak, would Flake object? of course not, but it's not like that's ever gonna happen right? (A deep part of Flake desperately hopes that'll happen). Besides Till is a very kind individual Flake knows he'd never take advantage of him or anything like that, silly Schneider is worrying about nothing. 

Flake and Schneider had to spend their long and busy shift listening to drunk people sing their hearts out, off key to the various songs available on the karaoke machine. To cope with the headache of tonight's shift Schneider suggested they drink some of their own supply. It didn't take much to convince Flake as karaoke was his least favourite bar event and so in between their serving duties they clicked their shot glasses together and downed the unpleasant and foul liquid. Flake had started his shift by making a sour face of disgust every time he took a shot of the repulsive straight vodka but now, as his shift was coming to an end his taste buds were numbed and he was able to take shots without a single complaint from his body. 

The night was winding down, most customers had headed home and the only ones left were either drunk and sobbing in a corner or drunk and making out on each others lap. The typical end to most nights in Feurräder.

Schneider and Flake were leaning on the bar top drinking and laughing with each other. Flake was in the middle of drunkenly blubbering a very stupid joke to Schneider when Till sat on a barstool and smiled happily at Flake who's face was flushed with alcohol.

“You seem to be enjoying your shift “ Till teased, smirking at Flakes glossy eyes and wide smile, the features of an obviously happily drunk individual.

“All in a day's work” Flake slurred, attempting to pour another shot, spilling a considerate amount of vodka all over the bar top. 

“Woah, I think that's enough drink for you sir, we wouldn't want you making a fool of yourself now would we?” Schneider chided through gritted teeth, swooping in and snatching the bottle of vodka out of Flake’s loose grasp and giving him a stern side eyed glare. Schneider was only moderately tipsy, his many years of excessive drinking had allowed him to build up some kind of tolerance to the stuff, a tolerance poor Flake had yet to develop.

“Is not for me, it's for our customer here” Flake countered, irritated, holding the small shot glass up in front of Till. 

Till gave a quick glance to Schneider who just threw his hands up slightly and shrugged before going to work trying to usher the remaining bar goers out of the bar before closing.

Looking back at Flake, Till took the glass from him and hummed a quick thanks before gulping down the vile tasting drink. Till scrunched his face in disgust and when he opened his eyes he met Flake’s gaze which was watching his face immensely. Till thought he saw what looked like anticipation in Flake's wide eyes. 

Flake continued to pour Till shots as the two laughed and joked together until eventually Till's face and brain is also blushed by a sweet alcoholic haze. 

Schneider had succeeded in evacuating all remaining customers out of the bar just in time for his lift to get here. He returned behind the bar to grab his coat from the backroom and appeared at Flake's side. Flake was completely preoccupied with his conversation with Till that he didn't even acknowledge Schneider’s presence. Schneider placed a gentle hand on his shoulder causing Flake to trail off mid sentence and slowly turn to stare up at Schneider. 

"My ride's here" he said, jerking his head to the entrance where a woman stood in a leather jacket, holding a motor helmet in her arm. "Will you be cool with closing up?" 

Flake eyes wandered to the direction Schneider's head had jerked to. He recognized the woman as Hannah, one of Schneider’s roommates. Flake narrowed his eyes and looked back at Schneider smirking, he'd always suspected there was something more between those two. Schneider frequently brought her up in conversation, 'oh Hannah is so cool she just bought a new motorbike', 'oh Hannah is so kind she lent me some of her makeup because I lost mine' 'oh Hannah this, Hannah that' 

"Well if you're going to be riding, Schneider _dearest_ , remember to wear protection." Flake drawled, smirking wickedly, satisfied to be getting revenge for Schneider’s teases earlier that day. 

Till choked on his drink, spluttering. Schneider’s face burned red and his ears started glowing pink. He stormed out from behind the bar. 

"Fuck you Flake, have fun cleaning up, _my darling_ " Schneider sneered, he stood in the doorway glancing between Till and Flake, giving Flake a flirty wink before Hannah and him left. 

As Flake tidied behind the bar, Till wandered over to the karaoke machine to investigate it. 

"This thing has the weirdest selection of songs" he observed loudly, flicking through the song choices. 

"I know right," Flake said, making his way to join Till at the karaoke machine, he leaned his head over Till's shoulder slightly, "it's like they just asked 50 random people on the street to name the first song that came to their head." 

Flake watched Till flick through the songs on the screen and gave him a fond thoughtful look. 

"You should give it a go" he quipped

Till's face began to get even more flushed than it already was from the alcohol. 

"I uh I don't think so, no one wants to hear me sing that's for sure" he stuttered nervously. 

"No one's here." Flake pointed out reaching for the karaoke microphone "Except me. This may be your one opportunity to sing karaoke in an empty bar" he tempted, holding out the microphone to Till. 

Till furrowed his brow in thought and contemplation. His face relaxed and was overcome by a goofy smile and he snatched the mic from Flake. 

"Okay you're right I can't let this opportunity pass me up" Till said. 

"Wait, you have to shuffle the song, that makes it more exciting wouldn't you agree? It's like Russian roulette of karaoke" Flake stated, grinning mischievously. He swiftly covered Till's eyes with his hands delicately. 

"See now just pick a song without looking, like a lucky dip" 

Till was caught off guard by Flake's warm touch on his face, he froze for a second before quickly flailing his hand to the screen and picking a random song. 

A guitar strum is heard and then a very chill blockbuster romance soundtrack sounding tune starts playing loudly. Both Till and Flake look at the screen expectantly. 

"Du… David Hasselhoff'' they both read off the screen in sync. 

"I've never even heard of this song, how am I supposed to sing it?" Till groaned.

"No complaints big boy" Flake said pushing Till onto the little platform that was set up for the karaoke goers to perform on. Till stumbled awkwardly onto the little stage and inhaled deeply preparing himself, eyes focused intently on the upcoming lyrics on the screen. The instruments softened in volume just in time for the first lyrics. 

"In deinen Augen steht so vieles, was mir sagt" he mumbled close into the mic. "Du fehlst genauso wie ich" 

"Louder!" Flake heckled "I want a show!" he demanded.

He threw his head back, drunkenly laughing at his own jeers. Till gives him a joking sneer and changes his stance slightly, gripping the microphone tightly in one hand and twiddling with it’s wire in the other. He grins at Flake before returning his eyes to the lyric screen. 

"Du bist alles, was ich habe auf der Welt" Till sung a little louder, the songs volume started picking up, the electric guitar and drums started kicking in with gusto. 

"Du bist alles, was ich willlllllll. Duuuuuuuuuuu" Till’s deep voice sung loudly, he was grinning widely trying to hold in his laughter, this song is so incredibly cheesy he thought. 

Flake was far too drunk to be holding in his laughter, he rocked back and forward laughing, even snorting a little. 

"Du allein kannst mich verstehen" Till gestured to Flake to come join him on the platform. Flake shook his head roughly, still smiling. 

"Duuuuuuuuu!" Till once again sang loudly as he started making his way off the platform and towards Flake.

"Du darfst nie mehr von mir gehen" he continued. He grabbed Flake's arm, ignoring his protests, and dragged him up to the platform. Flake crossed his arms and pretended to look annoyed at him. 

"Seit wir uns kennen, ist mein leben bunt und schön" Till jerked to the microphone in front of Flake's face and looked at him wide eyed and smiling. 

"Und es ist schön," he sang quietly trying to coax Flake into joining, "nur durch dich."

Flake sighed heavily and rolled his eyes and dramatically uncrossed his arms and took the mic from Till, giving him a glare before turning to the lyrics. 

"Was auch geschehen mag, ich bleibe bei dir" Flake sung softly, gripping the mic tightly trying to dissolve his sudden nerves. 

"Ich lass dich niemals im Stich" he turned back to Till, who held his hand up to his ear indicating to Flake to sing louder. Flake grinned smugly, holding the mic with a bit more confidence as he sang the chorus 

"Du bist alles, was ich habe auf der Welt" He moved in closer to Till holding the mic between them. 

"Du bist alles, was ich willlllllll" They sang together, Flake thrust the mic back into Till's hand.

"DUUUUUUUUU" Till bellowed dramatically, he held his other hand up in a flamboyant gesture, still staring at Flake. He tilted the mic back to Flake and held it in front of his mouth. 

"Du allein kannst mich verstehen" Flake sang.

"DUUUUUUUUUU, du darfst nie mehr von mir gehen" they sang profoundly passionately in sync. 

A long instrumental kicked in then giving the two men time to catch their breath. They stared breathless at each other, both their faces flushed and grinning brightly. 

"We should probably start heading, the power cuts out after 3am." Flake proposed and Till muttered in agreement. 

They stood in the night air as Flake locked up, both still giddy from the booze and still chasing the high from their silly karaoke session. 

They started on their walk home chatting shit about various things. Flake had sustained a minor injury to his ankle when the attacker had floored him and Paul. He didn't complain about it because it was only painful when he had to walk or stand for prolonged periods- like right now. 

"Man I wish we could get a motorbike ride home like _Schnneiiiider_ and his precious _Haaannah,_ I bet she doesn't even have a licence" he complained sneering when saying their names. He shuffled a bit, trying to not put so much weight on his injured ankle to try to diffuse the ebbing pain he felt. Till took note of his lopsided stride and thought for a moment before speaking up. 

"I can give you a ride home" 

"Till you dog! I'm not that kind of girl!" Flake joked, raising the pitch of his voice to mimic that of a teenage girl. He continued his focused walk without even looking at Till.

"At least buy me dinner fir-" 

He was cut off by Till suddenly yanking him off his feet. Till easily swung Flake's tall form over his shoulder. 

"Oi what the hell Till! " Flake flailed his hands and wobbled a bit. He held Till's shirt in an iron grip. Looking at the hard tar floor from this unsteady angle was making him feel nauseated and scared. 

"I'm gonna fall, put me down!" He yelped. 

"Come on Flake, don't you trust me?" Till said calmly, still walking easily towards their destination. 

Flake thought about his statement, did he trust Till? Sure, probably more than he should after knowing someone for only a week. 

"At least let me see where we're going, you could be taking me God knows where" he reasoned. 

Till hummed in thought. "Okay" he said before gently placing Flake on the pavement. He turned his back to Flake and crouched and held out his arms in the way one does when offering a piggyback ride. Flake easily bounced onto his back, clinging to his shoulders. 

"This is more like it. Onwards and upwards Till! " Flake exclaimed, slapping his shoulder and pointing ahead of them like someone on a conquest. 

Till rolled his eyes and bucked him up a bit to get a firm grasp of his legs, beginning their trek home once again. 

"Don't get cocky, I can still decide to drop your ass on the ground at any moment" He warned.

"But you would never do such a thing would you?" Flake teased patting Till's cheek affectionately.

"Don't test me" Till muttered. 

They carried on their walk joking and chatting. Occasionally Till would suddenly pick up speed wildly causing Flake to cling to him tightly, digging his fingers into his shoulders and hollering scared threats at him, "Stop! I'm serious you ass I'm gonna fall and split my head open! TILL STOP I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU" 

Till would slow down and chuckle at Flake's unamused tone, "You're such a dick Lindemann you know that? You're like a damn sadist getting malicious pleasure from my fear." 

They finally arrive at Till's grimy abode. Flake is happy to be out of the chilly night air but is disappointed to find the interior of Till's house is nearly just as cold as outside. Till notices Flake's tense slightly shivering shoulders. 

"Oh sorry the heating here is really shit, I forgot to mention that upfront sorry" Till lifted his sweater up over his head and handed it to Flake who bit his lip and tried to avert his eyes from Till's topless and tight abs, feeling a blush rising. `Jesus Flake, get a hold of yourself, you're acting like a teenager in a P.E changing room' he chided himself. 

"Don't worry I'll grab another" Till said before jogging up the stairs to the bedroom. 

Flake exhaled and sat heavily on one of the wooden chairs surrounding the kitchen. He placed his glasses on the table and wrestled Till's sweater over his head. Till re-emerged, no longer topless, from the hallway into the kitchen just as Flake's elbow knocked his glasses off the table. He finally pushed the sweater over himself and squinted around for his glasses, reaching his hands down to feel for them. 

"Here" Till said, picking up the glasses and carefully placing them on Flake's face. Flake's eyes focused to find Till's eyes staring right at him, so close he could see each pigment of green in his eye. Till cleared his throat and moved towards the fridge. 

"The freezer here doesn't work very well so if you're looking for food don't bother looking there by the way. Now," he stated, opening a cupboard near the fridge, "what shall we have for dinner?" he hummed looking around. "I bought rice and eggs while in the grocery store, do you like fried rice?" he asked looking at Flake. 

"Yea sounds good" he replied, cleaning his glasses on the sweater Till had lent him. 

Till got to work preparing two servings of fried rice. Flake was going to offer to help but honestly he was a terrible cook so he'd probably just be a hindrance, plus he was suddenly feeling very tired, the alcohol was wearing off and he was growing groggy and exhausted. 

Till hummed quietly while he cooked and Flake propped his elbow up on the table and rested his chin in his hand and closed his eyes for a bit, concentrating on Till's humming. That was until Till abruptly presented his dinner in front of him, placing the plate onto the table loudly causing his eyes to fly open. 

"I hope it's okay, I'm not the best chef" Till fretted nervously. 

"I'm sure it's great." Flake assured him, "Thank you by the way, for your hospitality and all that." he mumbled. Flake was such a sarcastic person he struggled immensely in showing genuinity and gratefulness. 

He looked up at Till who just smiled sweetly, his eyes squinted shut slightly and Flake, once again, took note of the large dimple on his right cheek. They both turned down to their plate, and started to eat. Flake shook his head slightly to himself in amused disbelief, what would the Flake of two weeks ago say if he knew that he'd find himself staying at a handsome man's house eating a dinner that said handsome man had made for him? 

They finished their fried rice and Till swiftly dumped the plates and culinary in the sink claiming that the washing was a problem for 'Tomorrow Till'. Then he ushered Flake upstairs and into his bedroom. 

"Here," Till said shoving a blanket he had pulled out from his wardrobe into Flake's arms "another blanket to keep you warm, again I'm sorry about the heating." he made his way towards the door. 

"Wait where are you sleeping?" Flake blurted. 

Till gave him a look of confusion "I'll be sleeping on the sofa" he said slowly still looking at Flake with his brow furrowed in slight confusion. 

"Won't you be cold without a blanket? I don't need two plus it's your house I should be the one sleeping on the sofa" Flake argued.

Till's face softened. 

"I was a swimmer, remember? I don't get cold" he said matter-of-factly. 

"Goodnight Flake, I hope you sleep well" Till waved, giving Flake one last look before leaving and closing the door behind him. 

Flake has been laying in bed tossing and turning for what feels like hours. Unrelenting barking echoes loudly outside and loud car engines sound past every few minutes. Even with the two blankets and Till's borrowed sweater which he wore over his pyjamas, he's still cold, he can't imagine how cold Till must be right now. He chews on his bottom lip frowning at the ceiling, guilt eating him up inside. Fuck it, he thinks gathering one of the blankets up in his arms and springing from the bed. Orange street light spilling in from the small windows illuminates his path down the stairs. He pushes the living room door open with his elbow and slowly creeps in. 

Till is lying on his back with his eyes closed wearing grey loose pyjama pants and a grey sweatshirt. Flake carefully and stealthy approaches and raises his hand slowly about to place the blanket over Till. 

But suddenly Till's hand springs out and grabs Flake’s wrist causing Flake to jump in fear and surprise. Till's grip on his wrist is so tight and twisted it actually hurts. Till is sat up now and his eyes are wide open and staring with deep and terrifying intensity at Flake who is just frozen in fear. After a moment Till's eyes soften and his grip on Flake's wrist relaxes.

Flake's heart is drumming insanely fast and vehemently in his chest he feels like a deer in headlights.

"Flake," Till grumbles "what are you doing here? Do you need something?" he asks, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes. 

Flake lets out a shaky breath. 

"I thought you might be cold" Flake stammered. 

Flake feels a faint and gentle pull on his wrist, it's so subtle Flake can't tell if its on purpose or just a vague gesture; nevertheless he goes along with Till’s beckoning and sits on the sofa next to him.

Flake wants to get back at Till for scaring the shit out of him so he smirks diabolically and suddenly tosses the blanket he was holding over Till’s head.

“Finally found a way to cover that _hideous_ sight that's been plaguing me for the last week“ Flake mocks, laughing airily. Till’s amused smirk is hidden by the blanket. He lifts the blanket up to peek at Flake. His face is shadowed by the blanket but the street light that spills through the curtain-less window reflects off his eyes slightly.

Flake is suddenly overcome with an unexplainable pull and with no time for second thought, he inhales deeply through his nose, squeezes his eyes shut and leans in and presses his lips to Till’s.

Caught by surprise, Till drops the blanket and it falls over Flakes head as well, covering both of them in darkness. Flake pulls back from the quick kiss so suddenly that Till didn't even have the time to kiss him back but Till leans in and kisses him this time and Flake doesn't pull away. Eventually the kiss escalates to a more open mouthed kiss, both men breathing heavily into each other's mouths. 

Flake gasps audibly when Till suddenly moves his mouth to his sharp jaw line and kisses it softly before gnawing on it lightly. Till leans back for a moment and pulls the blanket off of their heads. He looks at Flake's open mouthed expression before kissing his mouth quickly and going back to biting and kissing his neck. He sucks and bites a few marks on Flake's pale neck, biting particularly hard and roughly causing Flake to let out another gasp followed by a quiet whine. He snakes his hand up Till's back and grabs his hair, tugging on it. Till bites his neck painfully hard again and Flake pulls at his hair harshly. Till let's out a low and deep noise. Flake pulls his hair again, pulling his head up so that they are eye level again. He kisses Till and bites his lower lip between his teeth and pulls at it a bit before kissing and sucking the side of Till's neck. 

Till's large hand slowly makes its way down to the growing bulge in Flake's pyjama pants and grabs it suddenly making Flake jump slightly before continuing to kiss bite and suck Till's neck and ear. Till massages Flake through his pants before finally slipping his hand under the waistband of his pants and boxers. 

Flake groans and arches his neck back giving Till the opportunity to once again bite and kiss his exposed neck. Till begins jerking Flake off slowly and gradually picks up speed. Flake's hands grab Till's head pulling at his hair as they both gasp and moan deeply. Flake pulls Till's face towards his own and kisses him over and over again until he's about to reach his climax. Till pulls back to look at his face as he comes hard making a quite undignified noise, panting heavily. 

Till presses a small kiss to his forehead and wraps his arms around his back and pulls him down so that they are both lying on the sofa. The lack of heating doesn't seem to bother either man now as they drifted into sleep, clinging to each other on the uncomfortable sofa. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I named the murderer after my friends german ex shh and i based tills house after this scary estate near where i live that everyone calls the legohouses hehe also Schneider’s girl isn't relevant 2 the plot I just wanted to say BISEXUAL RIGHTS!!!  
> Okay was no one going to tell me that David hassleoff made German love songs in the 90s or was I just supposed to read that myself while looking for a song for karaoke???  
> Also yall, I am so sorry I have no fucking idea how to write sexy things I don't like remembering mein experiences with that stuff rn so I found it difficult to write also god it makes me feel so embarrassed


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi. i regret everything. im sincerely sorry for how late my uploads r getting fhjfhjeve i went thru alot of highs and lows while writing this chapter, mainly lows, thats why it took me so long (i have sad bitch brain disease)  
> WARNINGS!!!- drinking, smoking, drug use but no hard drugs only weed and very vague internalised homophobia  
> Unnecessary but I have attached a music file for a part of this fic at the end just to help because i am shit at explaining things, the sound quality is so bad idk why maybe some day ill rerecord it, no spoilers but its jus a small piano piece i workshopped u will understand it once u read this chapter

The sun's bright light stirred Flake to consciousness as he groaned and rolled over trying to shield his face from the harsh light. When he shuffled his body to turn he was surprised to find another warm body pressing against him and he was also surprised to find his pants feeling sticky and moderately moist. Such strange circumstances caused him alarm. He froze, opened his eyes suddenly and tensed up as he scanned his brain trying to figure out how exactly he had gotten into this situation. The memories of yesterday and last night came racing through his mind. He groaned again, bringing his hand up to rub his temple, it was all a lot to process. 

Till yawned and scrunched his face up and then opened his eyes, meeting Flake's wide eyes. He gave him a hazy smile before closing his eyes again. They were in very close proximity and Flake's eyes wandered to a red mark that was visible just above Till's sweatshirt's neck line. A mark that he had made. The memory of it was almost enough to make Flakes entire body blush. 

Till stretched suddenly and rolled off the sofa and stood up straight, bending backwards until his back cracked loudly. He gently pulled the blanket up to cover Flake's shoulders. He then grabbed the box of cigarettes and lighter that were on the cardboard box that was a substitute for a coffee table. 

Till smoked his cigarette as he walked to the door. 

"French toast?" he asked, waiting at the doorway. 

Flake just made a groaning "mhm" noise in response. Till left without closing the door behind him. 

As Flake lay under the blanket resting his eyes, the smell of cigarette smoke and fried egg wafted into the room. He could hear Till's soft humming in the distance. It was a soothing sound. 

Eventually Flake forced himself to get up. He shuffled to the bedroom where he changed out of his spoiled underwear and pants and into a fresh pair. He made his way back downstairs and into the kitchen where he grabbed Till's cigarettes and lighter off the kitchen table and lit himself one. They made comfortable small talk as Till cooked and Flake smoked. Both were incredibly good at ignoring what had occurred between them last night and continued to joke and laugh together as if their dynamic hadn't changed at all in the last 24 hours. 

  
  


Although he wasn't addressing it out loud, internally it was all Flake was thinking about. There was a whirlwind wrecking havoc inside him. A whirlwind of both positive and negative emotions. Last night had felt amazing and he was in a particularly good mood right now remembering it, but at the same time it opened the door for anxious thoughts to swarm his brain; was Till just messing with him? Would Till suddenly be creeped out by him and not want to be friends anymore? And even worse would they just never acknowledge this ever again in the future and go back to being normal even after such an amazing night? 

They were eating their eggs and drinking black coffee when there was a knock on the door. Till looked at Flake with a confused frown. Flake looked at him expectantly as he stood and went to open his front door. 

"Hey Till, sorry for not warning ye, but well, Richard doesn't have your number and Flake doesn't have a phone, but anyway, we're having a get together at Richard's today...like right now actually." 

Flake hears Paul's familiar voice and walks to the doorway and stands behind Till. 

"What's the occasion?" he asks raising his brow at Paul. 

"Why hello there Flake, straight to the point huh? You haven't changed at all, no how are you Paul my sweet friend I've missed you dearly?" 

Flake just glared at him with narrowed eyes behind his thick glasses lenses.

"No occasion, I'm just bored. Is a crime to want to spend time with my beloved friends?" Paul shrugged. “And remember I'm recovering from a traumatic event, so you can't say no. Come on get ready Richard's waiting in the car.”

Till and Flake give each other a look, Flake sighs and rolls his eyes and exhales an unimpressed “fine.”

They rushed down the last bit of their breakfast and quickly got changed while Paul and Richard waited for them. They sat in the back of Richard's car who greeted them both when they got in. Till was wearing dark navy pants and a grey turtleneck which thankfully covered the dark marks of the night's events. Flake was wearing a thin dark blue zip up hoodie and he made sure to keep the hood bunched up around his neck to hide any damning evidence. 

As they drove Paul ejected Richard's heavy metal tape and turned on the radio. 

"Hey-" Richard started, annoyed, taking his eyes off the road to give Paul a glare. 

"I'm sick of your damn tapes, let's listen to common people music for once" Paul said, flicking through the stations. 

Richard returned his look to the road grumbling sorely under his breath. Paul paid it no attention, continuing to scan through the stations. Till and Flake exchanged looks, ' _ trouble in paradise? The honeymoon phase must be wearing off ' _ they both thought. 

"Ooh!" Paul exclaimed, turning the volume up. 

It was playing Tracy Chapman's Fast Car, a song none of the men fully understood but English songs were heard commonly on German radio so they all recognised it. 

Paul mumbled and hummed along, singing the few words he did know very loudly, absentmindedly looking out the window and drumming his fingers on the dashboard. Richard glanced at his passenger, still with a sour expression but it soon changed to one of fondness. He hummed quietly along as well while driving. 

Flake and Tills eyes wandered to each other a few times on the short drive and they both smirked slightly at each other before turning their gaze back out the window. 

They arrived at Richard’s apartment which was much like Paul and Flake's, cheap and small but not as utterly cheap and small as Till’s. The front door opened to a kitchen similar to Paul and Flake's it had an island and two stools. The entire place smelled strongly of thick smoke.

Rich ard led them down a short hall and into the living room. Inside was one large black leather three seater sofa and a small ratty beige fabric two seater sofa. There was a black electric guitar that looked well used and moderately old. On the floor next to it was another guitar, this one a dark wooden acoustic with the B string broken and sticking out. Next to the television was a square shelf stocked with CDs, some cassette tapes and various magazines and a walkman was placed on top of it. On the floor next to the shelf was a blue CD player.

The four men sat down, Paul and Richard on the two seater and Till and Flake on the leather couch, somewhat awkwardly. The four engaged in casual conversation. 

Richard had an ashtray on the arm of the sofa and smoked continuously throughout their conversation. ‘ _ This guy smokes like a fucking chimney _ ’ Flake thought, he had seldom seen Richard without a cigarette in hand in the time he had known him. 

With the hand that wasn't holding the cigarette he was subconsciously fiddling with Paul's hand softly. Paul didn't take notice of Richard gently stroking his hand or twisting his fingers between his own slightly, Flake assumed it was just an anxious habit of Richards that Paul had grown accustomed to in their time together. It was strangely domestic Flake thought.

A motorbike engine was heard pulling up outside, Richard left to go to the front door and soon enough he returned followed by Schneider, accompanied by none other than Hannah. As Paul greeted them, Till and Flake exchanged pleased smug smirks. Their knowing look doesn't go unnoticed by Schneider who's face flushes very slightly and he gives Flake a quick glare. Till and Flake look at eachother again and stifle giggles. Richard and Paul look at the two men suspiciously but turn back to Hannah and Schneider.

  
  


Oliver couldn't make the event on account of his mother visiting him this week. Schneider and Hannah joined Flake and Till on the couch which was a tight fit so Flake was slightly squashed between Till and Schneider.

Richard went to the kitchen to retrieve four boxes of beer and 2 bottles of spirits. 

“Poitin.” he exclaimed proudly “My cousin got it for me, straight from Ireland. Don't over do it though guys, I don't want anyone dying of alcohol poisoning in my living room.”

Richard sat back onto the couch next to Paul and wordlessly offered his boyfriend his box of cigarettes which he accepted and untangled his hand from Richard’s to pick out a cigarette and place it at his lips. Richard lit it up for him as Paul handed the box back. 

“Anyone want one?” Richard asked, holding out the box to the other sofa.

Till held up his hands like one does when they expect to be catching something and Richard tossed him the cigarette box as well as the lighter. Till caught them both easily and begin lighting himself a cigarette. He passed the lighter and cigarettes to Flake who also took one and passed it along to Schneider.

Soon the room was full of smoke and the strong stench of tobacco and alcohol as the young adults smoked, drank and chatted nonchalantly between themselves. 

Somehow the conversation steered to Swedish pop band ABBA, a band Paul surprisingly would defend to his grave.

“I'm just saying if someone doesn't like ABBA, even a little bit, I don't trust them” he explained vehemently, holding his cigarette between his fingers and gesturing fervidly with his wrist. His face was slightly pink from the alcohol.

“There's gotta be a problem there, it's a sociopathic tendency I bet” 

Richard rolled his eyes at this statement but smiled fondly, his cheeks were also flushed by alcohol.

“Hey Till didn't you mention once you weren't a big ABBA fan” Richard questioned loudly.

Till looked caught off guard and surprised. He lowered the bottle of beer he was drinking slowly. The whole room was looking at him curiously, save from Paul who was narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him.

“I- Well I mean, no I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them.” He uttered, scratching his eyebrow awkwardly.

“My sister used to listen to them non stop in her room growing up so I've just grown tired of them.” he explained

“Hey Flake’s not fond of them either, we have had many arguments about it” Paul said.

“Oh so we shouldn't expect any ABBA to be played at you guy's wedding then” Schneider inquired smugly flashing a smirk at Flake before looking at Till expectantly.

“Two men cant get married in Germany.” Till responded simply.

Flake was evidently more sober than Till because when he turned to gave him a stern and furious glare he was met with only a confused look as Till shrugged and continued to drink his beer. Schneider smirked triumphantly, the rest of the room looked toward Flake and Till with intrigue.

In this moment, Flake wanted to strangle Till, and not in an erotic way.  _ ’idiot! The correct response was ew no we will never get married we aren't even dating!’  _ He inhaled deeply and tried to think of a reply to dig him out of this hole Till had out them in.

“Marriage is a consumerism scam created by capitalists.” Flake defended grabbing the bottle of poitin and taking a sip, immediately scrunching up his face in disgust at the strong foul taste.

“Worry about your own wedding Schneider. What kind of music do you like Hannah?” he quipped shooting a shit eating grin at Schneider before looking at Hannah smiling pleasantly.

“Why don't we discuss the current wedding,” Schneider huffed loudly turning to Richard and Paul “You two are already acting like an old married couple, I never thought I'd live to see the day Paul Landers settles down”

Heat rose in both Paul and Richards face and they opened their mouths to protest Schneider's statement in sync.

“It's not-I'm not settling down!”

“We do not act like an old married couple! Couple? Sure, but old? Hah! Have you see me I'm the face of youthful beauty! And married? Don't make me gag.”

The four others looked at Richard and Paul flailing in embarrassment and burst out laughing. They started discussing what each of them would do for the wedding, much to Richard and Paul's dismay who just watched on darkly. Schneider offered to be the officiator, Till would be a best man and Flake would be a bridesmaid-”other best man! There won't even be a bride at this wedding” Flake corrected- and Oliver, would be the ring bearer. The group laughed together as they all pitched ideas for their imaginary wedding.

“Is it okay if I smoke something a little stronger?” Hannah asked Richard as she produced a small brown packet and a tin box from her pocket.

“Does it look like I give a shit what people smoke in here?” Richard laughed.

Hannah had been generous enough to offer everyone in the room their own blunt-”don't worry this cost me nothing”- she grinded the marijuana and passed the tin and the skins around to whoever wanted to to roll their own blunt.

It's not the first time Flake has smoked weed, nor is it his first time rolling a blunt but he wouldn't consider it one of his fortes. He struggles for a while before he feels gentle hands helping to hold the skin steady as he rolls it up. He looks up and of course, it is Till helping him. Till is looking at Flake with a weird, content look on his face, Flake assumes it's a result of his drunkenness.

Everyone but Till was now smoking a blunt. Richard and Paul chose to share one. After his first inhale Richard coughed violently, Paul laughed and teased him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips as he took the blunt from Richard's hand.

Flake fought down the urge to cough as he inhaled the smoke straight into his lungs. He noticed Till watching him and turned to offer him his blunt.

“No thanks.” he replied, lighting up a cigarette, still watching Flake with an unreadable expression.

After a while Flake suddenly felt very lightheaded and tired, everytime he took a drag from the blunt, he took a swing of poitin to wash away the burning choking feeling in his throat with the burning liquid until eventually his mouth felt numb. When he had burned his fingers and lips on the last bit of his blunt he slumped back onto the back of the sofa, exhausted. Till brought an ashtray up to Flake's hand and gently pried the butt out of Flake's fingers and dumped it in the ashtray. He looked up at Flake’s glassy eyed stare and smiled sweetly at him. Flake absentmindedly pushed back the dark strands of hair that were covering Till's right eye. He dropped his hand back onto his lap and sighed heavily as he lay back further in the sofa, pressing his tired eyes closed. 

“Till, I want to go home” he mumbled. His head was spinning, he was regretting his decision to not only have drank considerable amounts of strong spirits, but also to have accompanied the drinking with weed. He felt dreadful, and his social battery was starting to wear thin.

“Hey Richard, me and Flake are gonna head away, it's late so we better start walking now” Till said interrupting the quiet conversation Schneider, Hannah ,Richard and Paul were having.

Richard looked at Till blankly for a second. He and Paul were slouched against each other, he had his head tucked into the side of Paul's neck. In one hand he was grasping a beer bottle and in the other was clutching just above Paul's knee.

Till downed what was left in his own bottle and rose to his feet. He turned and extended his arm to help tired Flake up. Flake stood unsteadily, he felt like he had just gotten off a merry-go-round from Hell.

“You can take my car if you want” Richard offered, sitting up slightly, lifting his hand off Paul's thigh and reaching stiffly into his jean pocket before tossing his car keys to Till who just about managed to catch them.

“Just make sure to pick me up for work tomorrow.”

They said goodbye and gave thanks where necessary and soon they were seated in Richard's car on their way home. 

Flake rested his heavy head on his hand and propped his elbow on the car door and gazed out the window at the dark night . Till tapped on the radio, a song Flake vaguely recognized came on, it was in english so he didn't know it very well because he didn't exactly enjoy listening to songs he didn't understand. Till hummed and sung along quietly, he seemed to know the words pretty well. Flake straightened and turned to watch Till singing softly, his green eyes watched the road ahead attentively.

“What song is this?” Flake asked loudly, his ears were ringing and his head was still spinning. Till seemed to be jumped out of a reverie but he didn't take his eyes off the road.

“Just like Heaven, by The Cure” he replied levely, he continued to sing along under his breath, Flake was impressed by his english speaking skills.

“Do you know what it means ?” he asked looking ahead and watching the road.

Till hesitated.

“Hmm only bits, an old english friend of mine had this on vinyl and once translated it for me. It's basically like,” he paused and waited for the lyrics he understood to kick in. 

“Why are you so far away she said“ he spoke over the song, “ Why wont you ever know that I'm in love with you?”

Flake placed his elbow on the door again and rested his cheek in his hand and angled his head to watch Till thoughtfully.  The gloomy vocals continued and Till interjected to translate the bits he knew.

"You, soft and, I don't remember that word" he said drumming his fingers on the driving wheel. It had started to rain and raindrops fell heavily onto the windshield. Till crouched forward a bit and squinted slightly to improve his vision in the dark night. 

"You" he continued, "lost and lonely" he said matter of factly, speaking firmly and clearly. 

"You're just like a dream, you're just like a dream." Till finished quietly. 

"That's all I remember” he said turning to smile nervously at Flake and chuckle. 

Flake stared at him calmly for a moment sucking on the inside of his cheek. He hummed in response. 

"It's less depressing than it sounds." he stated turning quickly to look at the road in front of them. "Still depressing though." 

Till laughed lightly and looked ahead of him thoughtfully. 

"I thought the pessimistic Flake would love that kind 'of wallowing in self pity music' ?" Till quipped quirking his brow and giving Flake a smirk out of the corner of his eye. 

Flake jokingly sneered at him and leaned over the centre console to flick the side of Till's forehead with his finger harshly and sat back dramatically and crossed his arms.

"I'm not pessimistic, I'm just a realist you idiot." he retaliated smugly turning up his nose and cocking his head back a bit. 

"Yea right, if you're a realist than the majority of the population must be delusional by your standards" Till laughed and in one swift movement stretched his arm over to ruffle Flake's hair roughly. Within a second his hand was back on the wheel and he was looking at the road grinning. 

Flake huffed loudly as he tried to flatten his rudely dishevelled hair. 

They arrived back at Till's house and the loud heavy rain sounds joined the chorus of constant barking that sounded in Till's area. 

"Do you want me to cook you dinner before bed?" Till asked when they entered the kitchen. 

"I think if I eat anything right now I'll violently puke all over you and your floor." Flake replied rubbing his forehead wearily. 

"Tea or coffee?" Till piped as he took off his boots. "You can get changed while I make it" he added. 

Flake was caught off guard by Till's caring nature. He just stood awkwardly with his mouth open a little, a faint blush creeping its way up his face. 

"Tea would be nice." he replied, his mouth was dry. 

Till started getting to work filling the kettle with water. Flake slowly dragged himself to the bedroom upstairs and got changed into his pyjamas. Pulling Till's borrowed sweater over his head as well, it was still moderately cold in the apartment and Flake hadn't brought any warmer clothes, hopefully Till won't mind he shrugged. 

He returned to the kitchen and sat at the thick wooden table. He propped his heel up to his seat and rested his chin on his knee. Half lidded he watched Till effortlessly make one cup of tea and one cup of coffee. Flake inhaled deeply through his nose and quietly let out a happy sigh. There was a certain kind of domestic energy in the room. It felt calm and comforting and natural even. His head was gradually getting less foggy, Flake felt very soothed. 

Till placed the cup of tea in front of Flake. He hadn't asked Flake how he liked his tea and he hasn't added milk which is how Flake enjoyed his tea. Flake didn't mention it though; he wasn't exactly in any place to criticise Till's tea. He might as well be the spokesperson of ungratefulness if he had the nerve to complain about tea that his host had made, while staying in his house, and wearing his sweater, and drinking his tea. So he just muttered a quiet thanks and drank the tea. 

Till sat across from him and held his black coffee while staring off absentmindedly, he eyes glossed over slightly. Flake watched him, focusing on his tired eyes. He watched as he slowly rose his cup to his mouth to take a sip. He flinched, having burned his mouth, and gave the offending coffee an annoyed glare and softly blew air onto the it. 

Till's decrepit house was starting to feel a tad bit homely to Flake, sure it was freezing cold, the neighbourhood was noisy and violent and he had to basically hold his breath everytime he used the bathroom to prevent that putrid smell from burning his nostrils. In his own apartment he would take long and leisurely showers, here he wanted to get in and out as quick as possible, he even felt gross just standing on the stains in the bathtub. But there was also something charming about this small block that presented all the basic needs two people would ever need to survive. Flake imagined living off the grid would feel a bit like this. Now that he thought about it, Till seemed exactly the type of person who'd spend their life living off the grid. 

Flake didn't know why but he suddenly felt light and giddy, maybe it was because he was tired or maybe it was just the overall absurdity of the situation of feeling like home in practically a stranger's shitty and rancid apartment. More than likely though, it was probably the effect of the last of the intoxicating substances working their way through his body. 

He suddenly burst out laughing, closing his eyes and throwing his head back. He laughed loudly with a wide smile on his face. He continued laughing and placed his tea down before falling forward onto the table and leaning the side of his face onto his forearm. He looked at Till who was looking at him with a confused frown which just made him laugh even harder until he was completely breathless, his eyes watering up. 

"Hey, what's so funny?" Till said lowly, still frowning at Flakes weird behaviour. Till pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket while keeping his glare on Flake. 

Flake couldn't speak, he didn't even know why he was laughing, but everytime he thought about the fact that he was laughing at nothing it just made him laugh more. 

"Why are you laughing?" Till asked again, furrowing his brow even more. He reached out to the ashtray on the table and dragged it closer to him. He took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth and lit it, still glaring at Flake. 

Flake tried to answer but just kept laughing, eventually just giving up and closing his eyes and trying to catch his breath. Till's expression slowly softened and his mouth broke into a smile and he laughed lightly. 

"There's a crazy person in my house…." he mused and laughed lightly inhaling the cigarette, coughing a little while he laughed. 

He looked away again and inhaled. As he exhaled a cloud of smoke he turned back and gave Flake a curious and intense look, grinning widely. 

Flake eventually recovered from his sudden laughing fit and Till wordlessly offered him the cigarette box which he took. Lighting himself a cigarette and sliding the box back to Till. The two men dragged the ashtray back and forth between themselves as they smoked and drank their tea and coffee in pleasant silence. 

They bid each other good night and each went to their respective sleeping quarters. 

Once again, Flake was finding it incredibly difficult to sleep. Not just from the constant outside noise but also from internal stimulus. He felt a solid ball of nerves in the pit of his stomach, he didn't understand why because a while ago he was literally laughing hysterically and feeling very carefree and happy, and yet, now he was lying on his back staring at the ceiling with a terrible feeling in his gut. Anxiety and nausea were no unfamiliar guests in the body of Flake Lorenz but still it agitated him and prevented him from falling asleep. 

After a while of tossing and turning and trying to disperse the sickening pit in his stomach he sat up and shuffled to the old piano. The room was lit up quite a bit from the orange street light peeking through the small window. Flake sat at the piano stiffly and let his fingers delicately touch the keys. He played a few notes very softly and quietly as to not to bother Till.

Flake had lied when he told Till he didn't play piano, in fact he had learned piano from a young age and it was a constant part of his life until a few years ago when he had given up completely. He suddenly came to the conclusion that he would never be the best or even be adequate enough at it so he had decided to just cut his losses. At times in his lifetime piano was his one escape and he never felt as free or ecstatic and complete than when he played, however at times in his life it was also a source of great frustration and turmoil and sometimes when playing he felt like the weakest most pathetic thing on earth. There was no balance to Flake's piano dilemma so he just cut off the source off pain while also cutting off his source of happiness. 

His fingers, two years out of practice now, continued to tap quietly at the keys. The sounds were familiar and pleasant to Flake. Eventually he picked up speed as all his practice came racing back to him. He was no longer painfully aware of the anxiety in his gut, he shut his eyes gently and played from muscle memory. He had missed this feeling.

He jumped a few inches off the seat in surprise and fear when he suddenly sensed a presence in the room. 

"Can't sleep?" Till's shadowy figure asked, amusement was audible in his voice. He stepped into a direct stream of street light and Flake saw his darkened eyes looking at him. 

"I thought you didn't play?" Till asked stepping closer before sitting cross legged on the floor. He looked up at Flake expectantly. 

"Play me something" he requested. 

"I - uh" Flake struggled to form a valid excuse, he never really liked playing for people, it made him incredibly nervous and self conscious, he believed piano was a personal thing, his playing was for himself and no one else. But nevertheless he turned back to the piano and shakily continued his piece. Seeing Till's figure sitting in the flood out of the corner of his eye distracted him. He suddenly pulled his hands from the keyboard and shuffled over slightly on the seat and patted the empty space next to him, beckoning Till to get off the floor and come sit down. 

Till hesitated for a moment before rising himself from the floor and sitting next to Flake cautiously. Flake started playing softly again staring intently at his hands and the keys in front of him. Till had his face turned towards him and Flake could see him watching him out of the corner of his eye. Till's gaze made him a feel a little bit fearful but he tried to focus on the piano piece and ensure that he didn't make any slip ups. After a while of playing Till turned toward the piano and quietly added chords with his left hand. 

Flake gave him a quick look when he suddenly heard the piano play notes he had not pressed. He looked at Till's large hand heavily yet slowly playing notes accompanying Flake's playing. Flake continued to play and gave Till a smirk before gradually picking up pace and volume. He wanted to test Till’s accompanying and improv skills. He played notes to harmonise with Till's playing while still doing his own thing and suddenly changing key and rhythm spontaneously. Till easily followed his lead. Till’s accompaniment was simple but it added a lot to Flake’s clear and almost frantic playing. Their playing wasn't exactly perfect, but that was to be expected when they were playing with no instructions or music sheets in front of them. The only thing they had to go by was their seemingly telepathic connection, sensing one others next step. 

Flake's playing was forcefully stopped by a hand suddenly clasping his left hand. He looked down with confused eyes and saw Till's large right hand gripping his left. Flake sheepishly looked up at Till who was staring at him with wide eyes and before Flake could say anything Till leaned forward into Flake's personal space and kissed him harshly on the lips. 

Caught by surprise for a second Flake doesn't kiss back but after a moment he relaxes and kisses Till back. Till deepens the kiss and Flake opens his mouth slightly and Till's rough tongue circles his own. 

Till pulls back so suddenly leaving Flake feel slightly baffled. Till rests his forehead on Flake's shoulder and sighs. 

"I have work in the morning." he groaned before rising to his feet abruptly. He stretched his back and it made an audible crack. He yawned and scratched his eyebrow groggily before starting his walk to the door. 

Flake frantically reached out his hand and without thinking grabbed Till's wrist firmly. Till looked down at his grasp with confusion and then looked at Flake's face with narrowed eyes. 

"Wait" Flake said, "sleep here, you probably won't get much sleep on that sofa" he stated. 

Till looked at him for a moment in silence before shrugging and relenting. They both lie in the bed together, at first both are tense and awkward but eventually as they grow more and more sleepy, they shift closer and become more comfortable as they drift off to sleep in close proximity and holding each other lightly. 

  
  


Meanwhile at Richard's - 

After everyone had left, Richard and Paul sprawled lazily on the leather sofa drinking the last of their beers. Richard was facing the TV with his head on a cushion in Paul's lap. Paul is gently brushing Richard's dark hair with his fingers, twirling the short strands in his fingers before petting it down flatly.

Neither are paying much attention to the news. No recent murders in the area, leading to police to assume that the murderer was in fact the man known as Julius Dietrich who was arrested recently. 

Hearing this sent a sudden sickening feeling through Richard's body. He was reminded that Paul had just narrowly escaped serious injury that night of the attack. He suddenly turns his body so that he is looking up at Paul who looks at him quizzically.

Richard takes the hand from his hair and presses it softly to his lips. Paul looks flushed and embarrassed for a second before grinning stupidly. He bends his back down, craning his neck slightly. Richard places his hand behind Paul's head and softly pushes Paul towards him as they press their lips together. Richard releases his hold on Paul's head after their chaste kiss. 

"I should probably clean up" Richard sighs rolling off the couch into a squatting position. He grasps both of Paul's limp hands in his and brings them both to his mouth before standing. 

"What a gentleman" Paul says sarcastically, hiding his faint blush. 

Paul enters the kitchen with the acoustic guitar in hand while Richard is tediously rinsing the dishes. 

"I would offer to help but you know, I'm in recovery so I shouldn't really be straining myself you know?" Paul says cheekily. 

Richard chuckles at this remark. 

"You'd be no help anyway, you never rinse the dishes properly "

"You're just annoyingly particular about your dishes" Paul replies sitting on the island stool and findling with the guitar keys. He strums it, looking satisfied with it's sound. He begins picking a melody. 

"Ich wollte mit dir reden über deine Frisur," he starts singing, Richard turns to give him a look and roll his eyes. 

"und über Liebe, aber du lachtest nur." Paul sings, faking a dramatic pout. 

"Jetzt weiss ich nicht, was ich denken soll," he continues and sighs dramatically. 

Richard pulls the last dish out of the sink and leaves it on the counter to dry. He turns to look at Paul unamused as he dries his hands off. 

"ist es wirklich Liebe, oder finde ich dich nur toll?" Paul sings and strums the guitar enthusiastically one last time before hopping off the stool and bowing. 

Richard rolls his eyes again and claps lifelessly. 

"Impressive," he observes.

"you've managed to be the cheesiest person on earth" he scowls but it lacks any actually bitterness. 

"Only for you mein Schatz" Paul says pecking Richard on the cheek quickly before striding down the hallway into the living room to return the guitar. 

While Paul is brushing his teeth Richard comes into the only bathroom in the apartment after having changed into his pajamas. He reaches around Paul who is standing in front of the sink to grab his own toothbrush and toothpaste. Without thought he wraps his other arm around Paul's waist and places his chin on his shoulder. 

Paul gives him a curious glare from the side of his eye. After placing his toothbrush in his mouth and returning the toothpaste to the sink Richard wraps his other arm around Paul, clinging to him and swaying them both side to side slightly. 

"Ok now who's the cheesy one? What's gotten into you?" Paul demands suspiciously through a mouth of toothpaste. 

Richard was almost never this obviously affectionate, but ever since hearing the news his anxiety had been heightened to an unbearable level and he just needed some comfort. It felt relieving to hold Paul in his hands and know that he was okay and that he hadn't been seriously hurt. 

Paul gave Richard a weary and somewhat worried look before relaxing into his hold and resting his cheek against Richard's head. 

"You're so annoying" Paul muttered fondly. 

It was late at night and they were lying in bed about to go to sleep. Richard had his head propped up on a pillow, he was staring at the dark ceiling. He was reminiscing on the last two weeks.

Before he met Paul Richard would have considered himself straight, bi curious _at most_ , but of course he'd never admit that. His attraction to men had been a deep source of shame and embarrassment in his life. It was a dark shadow that loomed over him, suffocating his every thought and action. He had promised himself to never ever act on his urges and to live the normal life his family and society expected him to.

The only reason he was at Feurräder that fateful night was because he had a sneaking suspicion that his new colleague, Till, played for the wrong team so to speak, and Richard, stubborn and cocky, wanted to confirm or deny his personal theory by bringing his new friend to the only gay bar in the whole area and seeing how he reacted. 

But then he met Paul and was instantly intrigued by his playful energy and positive aura. Richard had never met someone so captivating.

On their first night together Richard had been embarrassingly nervous, it was his first time with a guy, and his cocky confident manner was completely overshadowed by his nerves and self doubt. But Paul had been so gentle and comforting to Richard, things Richard had been taught his whole life that men weren't supposed to be. 

He had been raised in a choke hold called masculinity his entire life but with Paul he didn't even have space to think about all that or about his shame and guilt. With Paul all he thought about was Paul and how enthralling and remarkable he was. His eyes, his body, his hands his smile, how amazing he was at everything and how amazing he could make Richard feel. It was intoxicating. 

Paul's head was resting in the crook of his neck and he had his arm around Richard's chest. Richard in turn had his arm around Paul's upper half and the other one clasping Paul's hand loosely. 

Paul gently pulls Richard's hand towards him and kisses his palm. 

"Goodnight Richard" he says muffled by Richard palm. 

Richard's heart tightens in his chest and he is overcome with a powerful feeling he can't even comprehend. 

"I like you" he blurts out. Instantly cringing, heat rising in his face as he mentally berates himself for saying such a silly thing without thinking. 

Paul is still for a moment before he rises to look down at Richard amused. He smiles and leans down slowly to kiss Richard's embarrassed face. 

"I like you too" he says through his smile. 

Richard's blush grows furiously. 

"No" he exults.

"I love you" he finally says, eyes wide in shock at what has come out of his mouth. His mouth is agape and he holds his breath staring at Paul in slight fear. 

Paul's expression changes to one of surprise and he averts his gaze from Richard as blush rises in his cheeks, his ears start to burn pink. This is the first time either of them has said those three important words in their time dating. 

Richard inhales deeply and feels a surge of courage and self assurance. He leans forward and kisses Paul's lips. 

"I love you Paul" he says firmly and with confidence looking at Paul with exhilaration. He presses a quick kiss to Paul's forehead. 

Paul recovers from his initial surprise and rolls his eyes fondly before pressing his forehead onto Richard's. 

"I love you too Richard" he says softly kissing him on the lips. Blue eyes gaze into blue and both men smile uncontrollably at each other. "idiot." 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Le audio file of their lil piano duet thingy------>  
> https://void-0000000.tumblr.com/post/642698411055972352/if-ur-seeing-his-helooooo-this-is-my-burner
> 
> I AM NOT GLORIFLYING THE USE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. AND YOU SHOULDNT DRIVE AFTER DRINKING OR USING DRUGS LIKE THE IDIOTS IN THIS FIC and for any minors reading this - NEVER START SMOKING AND ALSO ALCOHOL IS BAD 4 YOU DRINK RESPONSIBLELY  
> also man. these chapters r jus getting progressively worse i apologise my brain is just mush but i promise i will finish this fic eventually becos i literally have it all planned. Also i need to stop using music as a motif but,,,,im gay nd a hopeless romantic so i wont <3


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